The schools in Southern California that I am most familiar with are not so different I gather @suhsiritto. Basically, if the kid really wants to go to Michigan and he or she has the stats to get into, say Berkeley, UCLA, or USC, then they will get in Michigan if they tailor their essay to the school.
Problem is, even if a kid wants to go to UMich, they probably don’t know the culture well enough to write a compelling enough essay to guarantee the admission. And then you have to ask, why does the kid really want to go to Michigan? And why do the parents really want to send their kid to Michigan?