Benefits of applying ED?

Hi, I am wondering if I should apply to northwestern for ED.My grades and extracurrixulars etc. fall right in line with Northwestern. I’ve talked to some current students and I think this would be a nice fit. Though I love NU’s program, I’m not sure if i’m set enough on it to apply ED, there are a few schools on my list that might be above or equal to NU. My worry is that I know the acceptance rate is higher in ED and if my 3 or 4 top schools don’t accept me NU is still very high on my list and I don’t want to lose my opportunity by applying RD. Can anyone provide some advice on this?

Unless you are seriously determined to go to Northwestern, i.e. it’s your top, #1, for certain choice, don’t apply ED. It’s binding. Sounds like this isn’t the case. If your ECs, grades, test scores, etc fall in line with (or better exceed) the norm, you’ll probably get in RD anyway.