Thanks for the kind thoughts. My thoughts: 1) he can’t go wrong with either choice; 2) yes, fit is key; 3) I largely concur with the other posters.
Clearly, given Georgetown’s location near the heart of the political action, if that is one of the goals, it is a good/great school.
However, don’t count out Michigan: 1) the Ford school is well ranked; 2) the poli-sci department is almost unmatched; 3) the school of social research probably is unmatched; 4) the Carson scholars program and other programs create internships and outreach to the Capitol; 5) if you at the numbers of alums under the current administration, I believe Michigan ranks in the top 2 or 3 schools with senior administration schools…this has been a feature of Michigan’s profile since the days of Grover Cleveland; 6) at the graduate level, Ph.D econ hires are largely done from one of 4 schools and Michigan is in that cohort; the undergraduate version of econ is also very strong.
As to a decision based on timing of admission, that is not a very usable decision rule. Admissions have a large component of luck involved. I would ignore any deferral, now that he is in, he is in. However, if that is going to be a forward sticking point, who knows?