UM has the added advantage of having a top notch athletics programme. The Wolverines' footie and mens' basketball teams in particular are always there or thereabouts at gong-giving time. This might not seem important to you, but it helps the atmosphere and vibrancy on campus and, of course, helps bring in the moolah for the Uni. To be among the crowd of 108,000 in Ann Arbor stadium for the Homecoming game is something else. And not a football hooligan in sight!
And it has an excellent reputation in many academic fields, as Clanad has alluded to. I wish I'd trusted my abilities enough to apply to Michigan, instead of settling for the vastly inferior Toledo. (No, Clanad, don't laugh. Well, not too heartily!)