I think it certainly does, I dont think that politics is as important as you're making out, particularly if you're a big fan of some of the more oddball politics on this forum because you're simply not going to find that many people who identify as strongly with those ideas offline as you will find here or other places online.
Instead I'd say that culture is very, very important in the sense of do they have a social scene, how many extra curricular societies and activities are there, are they "open" or "closed" clubs as in do you need to be a subscribing member or can you just go along to their movie screenings, trips, parties, whatever and can you do something every night of the week you decide to take a break from studies besides drinking (or maybe dating).
I went to two different universities, two different campuses of one, and I only enjoyed one of those experiences because of the community and social scene, I was living furtherest away from home at that time, despite it being the shortest, ie one year as opposed to two or three years.
Uni isnt just about the obvious things, the first chance to live independently of parents for some, the academic side of things, possibly meeting a future partner for life, networking but its a couple of years when you can concentrate on your personal and professional development, you dont get many chances at that once you have kids, commitments, a steady job and bills to pay etc. Its not like life stops or anything but its something to think about, I didnt, largely because I was one of the first in my family to ever go to university.