Interview the colleges before applying.  A formal campus visit is the perfect time for that.  Develop a set of questions that cover the details of things most important to you.  Ask those questions and make certain they are answered specifically. 
 

Campus culture has changed a lot since mom and dad were in school.  Some campus policies are greatly relaxed, others are more restrictive.  For example, words that you may use commonly even absentmindedly  around your home and in your community may be taboo at some colleges. http://(http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6770)
 

 What are the school's Core Values? ( for example:  http://www.udel.edu/prominence/principles.html) 
Learn the details of the specifics behind broad and benign statements of ideals.  How are those values practically applied on campus, in the students' lives?  Remember, you're going to be living at this place for four years.  Make sure it's a good fit for who you are as a person.  The most expensive decision you can make is to transfer colleges.  It adds time toward earning a degree; and time is money. 
 

To reiterate: the college scene, since your parents graduated, has changed so drastically as to be unrecognizable to them.  There is no safe assumption about campus life, about course-work and about costs of attendance.