My top two choices so far are Georgetown SFS and Duke. I know Georgetown SFS is just world-class when it comes to international relations - top of the field, best connections, all the praise etc. etc. But I feel better about going to college at Duke. I feel better about the campus, community, and overall environment there, and I feel as if I’d have a better experience at Duke. Duke is by no means bad when it comes to PoliSci/International Relations, and they’re giving me more financial aid.
I feel better about the campus, community, and overall environment there, and I feel as if I’d have a better experience at Duke. <<< You’ve already solved this puzzle. Enjoy Duke!
As a Georgetown student, I would say you should probably pick Duke. The classes you take are only one part of your whole college experience, and the IR classes specifically are a subset of that. I went to Georgetown in part because the school’s academic strengths aligned with mine, but ultimately committed over another top choice school based on my gut instinct, which for you is saying Duke.
The one exception might be if you see your ideal college experience as academic-heavy: say you want to get super involved with specialized IR-related research outside of the classroom, or if you think you love IR so much that you would run out of IR classes to take as electives at Duke. Then, maybe take a second look at Georgetown.
Agree that since Duke is “calling you” & has offered more financial aid, then it may be the better choice for you as an individual, but it is not a better choice for the study of IR.