The freshman dorms were overly crowded for my first year at a new school. It was impossible for my roommate and I to transfer to different dorms, even though we had really bad problems living together. It you get along with your roommates though the dorms can be nice, especially if you're not in a forced triple. The upperclassmen dorms are great, and you have the option to live off campus so it feels like you're starting to be 'off on your own' without actually paying for apartments.