Which is better Hamsters, gerbils, or chinchillas

Hi! I'm living in an apartment, and want a small fuzzy pet to take care of. What is my best bet for a great little companion? I'm going to be a student in the fall, but will have plenty of time to take care of it. I have limited space, so I'm not looking for one that needs a huge cage or anything. I'm also not looking to spend a great deal...so, which little critter is my best bet?

P.S. I am an adult, living with 3 other adults, so there won't be any little children around to be rough with the animal. Also, I've had hamsters before, so I have a little knowledge on them. Thanks!

Gerbils! I own two! Gerbil people are very jealous of hamsters. Hamsters have the popularity that rightfully belongs to gerbils. While hamsters have cuter faces and softer fur, they are just not as nice or fun as gerbils. They are nocturnal so usaully all you see is the back of your hamster sleeping in a ball in one corner. They are not ready to play until it's time for you to go to bed. Then they obsessively run that wheel, th-th-tha-thumping all night long. Hamsters smell up the cage very quickly and will pee on you. Hamsters are solitary animals, so you need to keep one per cage. This makes keeping them more expensive and breeding them more difficult than gerbils.

Gerbils are great! They are dinural, so are awake night and day. They get very excited about any new thing you put into the tank for them and will immediately explore it. You can make cardboard buildings/tunnels for them and they will love crawling into, through, over, and on them. Then they will gnaw it all up. You can house two for a $25 10 gallon set up. They are by far the cleanest of all the small pets, so bedding is not a big expense. They live in clans and groom, nest, play together. You can house up to seven boys in one tank (five gallons of space per gerbil). They are easy to breed and both mother and father are great parents. Gerbils come in about 40 colors and varieties. They are not a big commitment as the life span is about 3 1/2 years.