I won’t get into debating student body quality and faculties ranked at the top of their field; suffice it to say by many measures Michigan is a cut above other Big Ten schools, but concededly Wisconsin’s faculty is also very strong almost across the board, as is Illinois in some areas, and every Big Ten school has its academic strengths. We can debate the specifics elsewhere.
I just want to point out that Michigan doesn’t just draw from the East Coast. Its top OOS feeder is New York (1,654 undergrads), but that’s followed by Illinois (1,438), California (1,396), New Jersey (904) and Ohio (607). So quite a few Midwesterners are electing to attend Michigan; just not so many from Wisconsin (58). And every large-population state is well represented; in addition to those mentioned, you have Maryland (419), Pennsylvania (396), Connecticut (361), Massachusetts (348), Florida (344), Texas (204)., Virginia (195), Georgia (147). Even little Minnesota chips in 135, almost triple the number of Wisconsinites, though the states are comparable in population and Wisconsin is closer to Michigan; followed by Colorado (116), Indiana (102) and Washington State (94). Yes, there’s maybe a slight East Coast tilt; more than 10% of Michigan’s student body comes from the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area alone, but it also draws well almost across the board with the exception of some parts of the Deep South (Mississippi 3, Alabama 6, Arkansas and Louisiana 9 apiece).