Few things at a high level. Some of the fields of study at BU are supposedly very good, from my limited knowledge, Physics, Economics, Business, Engineering, public health …
Secondly, BU attracts high caliber faculty as well as students from around the world because of the location. You may want to check the profiles of the faculty in your area(s) of interest. Many are members or elected fellows of prestigious organizations in their fields. The class sizes usually smaller than large public universities.
The caliber of students is high and keeps going up consistently. I have seen acceptance rates go from 25% to 18.5% in 3 years. That is a 26% drop. This year the overall acceptance is going to drop further because of record number of applications, like 76k.
Also the location offers so many opportunities like working in an industry of interest part time during the year and full time during summer. Of course they don’t have a co op kind of program like the neighboring NEU, but support is still supposedly good. One has to work for opportunities though, nothing is going to come served on a plate. Depending on the major, there can be plenty of research and opportunities within BU itself. There are especially many health care related organizations and research institutions all around.
Regarding the quality of student life, people seem to love studying in a vibrant city like Boston area. Lot of clubs and student activities to pursue. And lastly, the benefits of a legacy for future generations, kind of paying up front for it.
Can’t one get all these in a public university? May be, you have to find out. That is an individual choice to make.