First, decide how wedded are you to journalism? Annenberg is a far cry from cog or comp sci. Job placement is a function of your major, with j-school grads not as employable vs. Cog Sci grads.
'SC is big on football in the fall. Is that of interest?
Cornell used to run shuttles to the airports for school breaks. Ask if they still do. Ithaca can be a fun college town.
Sad students? Not sure I understand that con.