Other schools to consider that are more mid-sized but might fit the bill. Carnegie Mellon - great arts/theater as well as strong academics. Distinct campus, yet accessible to the city. And WashU in St Louis. Have a daughter there - all programs are strong. Dorms and food are first rate. The community is socially conscious, the loop nearby is a great neighborhood, downtown easily accessed with interesting food scene, and there is public transport directly from campus to airport.
And JHU had the best tour we went on - gentleman spoke for 75 minutes - no notes - no power point - and everyone was spellbound. First time I didn’t see most of the audience on their smart phones throughout an info session. It really gave us a great sense of the school, it’s history, it’s philosophy, how it was different from other places, what types of kids thrived there and what they were hoping to achieve with their students.
And a thought for the future. I really hoped my kids would take advantage of ED, but we were counseled against it unless they were really sure because so much does change through that senior year. They did do several EA schools and it was nice to have acceptances before the end of December. But I did not understand the value of April visits until we went through the process. It was hard to visit places that month because of the distance and AP exams looming, but those overnights really made the difference in decision-making. We even had schools pay for our flights. It is totally different to tour the schools in April with the kids who are actually accepted and might be your classmates.