100% agree with this. Part of why home attendance is not as strong is because more GT grads are taking jobs out of state. A recent article said GT sent more grads to FANG companies than any other school. Traditionally, a lot of GT grads go to industrial companies in the Midwest (think Johnson Controls, Honeywell, etc.). Even the consulting firms give GT grads the freedom to select their home office city.
At factory schools, the grads take jobs in relatively close proximity to the school. Just part of the trade-off between being a national academic brand and being a factory that’s only regionally relevant.