Pengsphil, Batesparent was alluding to the rare combination of academic excellence, athletic tradition and campus life that exists at Michigan. Schools like Columbia, NYU, Harvard, MIT, BU, NEU, etc…are excellent, but they do not possess the unique mix that exists at Michigan, or Duke, or Notre Dame or Wisconsin or UNC or Stanford or UT-Austin and a handful other universities around the country. In Boston, the only University that comes close is BC.
That being said, schools in Boston and NYC come with their own unique mix, which comes with big city life. Some people like the college town experience while others prefer big city life. To each his own.