Glad I checked my undergrad email for the first time in months today, otherwise I never would've seen this message.
I ended up choosing Sanford, and I'm quite happy with my decision. My heart had been set on McCourt before I even started applying to MPP programs, in part because I wanted to end up in DC and in part because Georgetown was my dream school for undergrad (and I didn't get in). But I decided to visit Durham for admitted students' day and fell in love with both the campus and program. Sanford did a stellar job selling themselves; the admissions ambassadors and faculty made me feel like I was being welcomed into a tight-knit, engaged community, and Duke's campus is phenomenal.
I ultimately picked Sanford over McCourt for two reasons. First, the Duke name carries a lot of weight, and the alumni network is exceptional. I managed to land a job in consulting because of Sanford's strong pipeline to the most prominent government consulting firms, and I scored a prestigious internship because of previous connections the career services office had with the company. Second, despite wanting to end up in DC, I found that Durham was actually in a better location for me. I'm driving distance from both DC and my family, and there are ample ways to get involved in state and local government here in North Carolina that I might not have had in DC.
From my experience, if you are interested in going into consulting, want to study social/health/technology policy, are looking for opportunities to work in state/local government, or crave nice weather, Sanford is a fantastic choice.