Ithaca is beautiful all year round. And one of the coldest experiences of my life was visiting JHU for a campus tour one day back in Feb. 2015, when it was 17 degrees.
We liked JHU, but D and I both felt it was intensely academic. Every single student in the library had their nose buried in a computer. We didn’t feel there was an oppressive vibe, but we did feel that students are super serious and that the surrounding area didn’t seem conducive to a classic college experience. I’ve only visited Cornell briefly, and it is also intense, but I think it has a huge advantage simply because it’s in such a gorgeous place and Ithaca is a great college town. But you seem to prefer JHU. What does your son prefer?