This is definitely personal preference. Moving to an apartment was infinitely better for my sanity. No dorm rules, a living room and kitchen to hang out in, living with your friends were all huge benefits. Negatives included no dorm rules (loud roommates), leaky kitchen and terrible landlord, more space to maintain, travel to/from campus, easier to be secluded from school activities.

In my opinion, who you live with is make it or break it. Living with wonderful roommates will pay dividends in your future career, mental sanity, and friendships.

As an aside, $4,000 x 4 years is $16,000. Could you parents buy you a $9,000 car after you graduate which would equal to the $25k they are offering? Is there another reason they don’t want you in an apartment?