Pros
Many of these pros are very specific to your advisor and program, however in my experience: 1. Many renowned faculty to study under 2. Many intelligent students to learn from 3. Opportunities to travel to conferences 4. Low cost of living 5. The people of Indiana and the midwest are very nice 6. Great graduate classes 7. Amazing reputation of the University when finally seeking a job 8. Great engineering facilities on the whole
Cons
Many of these consare very specific to your advisor and program, however in my experience: 1. Conservative nature of the campus and faculty can sometimes lead to impersonal relations with the advisor 2. Winter weather 3. The pay is on the scale of the cost of living, but let's face it, grad student pay is never more than enough to scrape by on 4. The social options in the immediate area are sometimes lacking 5. The academic culture as a whole...the individualism of research can lead to competitiveness among peers that is unproductive and sometimes nasty. This is not specific to Purdue, I presume.