I avoided Dorm Life. Got an apartment as a freshman, and while it has its downsides, I don't regret it. Let's start with the negatives.
1. It can be a bitch to make friends. Totally depends on your personality. Beacuse I wasn't living in the dorms, Purdue wouldn't even let me take part in the freshman orientation program. If you are outgoing, you shouldn't have much of a problem. You just have to make friends in your classes or in clubs you join.
2. You gotta cook, or if you are blessed with the ability to eat out every meal, you will be fine. I am on a Subway diet because I hate cooking for myself.
Now, the positives.
1. No filthy, nasty, stinking shared showers and bathrooms. This was my biggest problem with dorm life. I am such a neat freak, and cleanliness advocate, that I could never share a bathroom with someone who is filthy (and 90% are).
2. Not feeling like your in a prison. Purdue's dorms looked like prison cells. Concrete walls, tiled floors. It did not feel like a home at all. Plus I could pretty much touch both sides of the room with my hands. With the apartment, you get to personalize the place a hell of a lot more to your likings. My mom and I had fun making my apartment match my personality.
3. It's about the same money for an apartment up here as it is to live in the dorms. Dorm system is a fucking ripoff.
4. Your apartment will only smell like you. i went in a men only dorm once in my two years of college to help fix a kid's computer. Worst fucking smell in my life. No one showers. The ladies' dorms weren't so bad, and if you were lucky you saw them walking around pretty nekkid.
5. Place to park your car. Purdue parking is a bitch, and expensive. I love having a set spot for my car. Only thing I wish my apartment had was covered parking. I hate letting the elements destroy my car.
6. Your landlord may be more receptive to your requests than the dorm system. True story here. My ex left for Christmas and followed everything on the check list for leaving for break (unplugging everything, turning off heater, etc). She comes back in January and her room is destroyed. Their detergent exploded, cokes exploded, all kinds of nasty stuff. What happened was Purdue turned the heat up to insane levels while everyone was gone (who knows why). They did not receive any compensation for their ruined stuff, or any help cleaning it up for that matter.
I hope that helps.