<p>Parent of a rising 4th year from New England here. Our standard m.o. has been to fly into Midway, rent a car, and stay in different locations on each visit. We have found that once we have a car, distance from campus is not such an important variable. We have had excellent luck finding nice hotels at affordable prices in various downtown/Loop locations using Hotwire (which also has had great car rental prices).</p>