IMO, the upside to Purdue is that the total Aviation Technology department is small (~600) in a school of 30,000+ undergrads. Each year, the incoming class of Flight students capped between 70 and 80 students.

This gives you an intimate, hands-on experience within aviation where you know professors on a first-name basis while allowing you all the social & extracurricular opportunities of a major state school. Additionally, even as an out-of-state student it was cheaper for me than ERAU-DB.

While at Purdue I did all the normal aviation stuff (part-time instruct, Flight Team, etc) but I also did swing dancing, intramural football & softball, shot football/baseball/softball/swimming video for the Purdue Athletic Department, trained for a half-marathon, had a no-sh!t Wyoming cowboy for a Personal Finance TA, watched Kyle "Neckbeard" Orton himself fumble away the Heisman trophy after being in the front row of ESPN College Gameday, met the woman who is now my wife and drank a lot of beer and bourbon.

It was a great 4 years, both personally and professionally. I highly recommend the school to anybody who is looking for a great experience, especially one in aviation. I know it opened doors for me that otherwise wouldn't have, and the networking I did there has directly impacted myself and others in terms of employment.

With that said, your college experience is what YOU make of it, regardless of the name on your diploma. Don't go into massive, unsustainable debt for your education regardless of where you go to. Have fun and enjoy yourself, but work hard and be safe. Enjoy the ride and your college bubble...the real world kinda sucks.