Chicago is...Katie's Kind of Town?

We are driving to Chicago today for a final (I hope!) look at two colleges. Loyola is hosting a special weekend for students interested in certain majors, business being one of them. We'll have tours on campus during the day tomorrow, and then attend a Scholars Reception in the evening for students who were offered merit scholarships. This will be our first look at Loyola, so I'm interested in seeing what this university is all about. Unfortunately the other Chicago college Katie is interested in is on spring break, so the buildings will be closed. But we have already toured it in the past, so that isn't a huge issue. We'll just take another look at the campus on Sunday before we head home. This whole college search thing is just so overwhelming anymore. When I was a teenager (don't I sound like our parents now?) my dad announced to me that I was going to attend Iowa State. I expressed to him that I wanted to go to the University of Iowa because of their Liberal Arts program. After all, Iowa State's full name is Iowa State University of Science and Technology. You see my problem? Dad said "Your brother goes to Iowa State and that is where you are going". End of discussion. I didn't have to take multiple tests, write essays or drive/fly around the country looking at all the options. In this economy I continue to hear that Washington University had over 23,000 applicants for 1,400 openings in the freshman class, NYU had over 20,000 applicants for 1,000 slots, etc. I'm assuming that most of these kids will be applying for loans in order to pay the $40,000 per year cost of attending these institutions. Is the next financial crisis going to be when these new college graduates can't find jobs paying enough to make the monthly payments and default on the school loans? A scary thought...