I need help deciding whether I should apply to Yale, Cornell, or Brown early. Yale is probably my top choice, and I understand that Yale has a non-binding early program whereas Brown and Cornell are binding, but my worry is that I will waste an opportunity for higher chances of admissions at Brown or Cornell if I EA to Yale, but on the other hand, I am not sure if I am set on committing if I am accepted ED to Brown or Cornell. My stats are below… Can you please give me a REALISTIC shot at each school/ which you would suggest??
Intended major: Chemistry or Biomedical Engineering
Demographics: White female from middle class family, attending a competitive all-girls catholic high school in the northeast
GPA: 4.256/4.3
Rank: school does not rank, but I am in Cum Laude Society which means top 20%
SAT/ACT: Waiting on scores, hoping for 1500+/33-34
EC: Lots of leadership, very passionate about social justice; club swimmer (18 hours per week of practice); captain of varsity swim and dive; founder of a club; member of science club and will graduate with a diploma with STEM distinction for participating in STEM Certificate Program; canceled internship at NIH; (hopefully) shadowing a hematologist in the upcoming months; did a virtual neurosurgery internship/shadowing program this summer called BRAINterns; girl scout; irish dance (world qualifier); 250 hours volunteer
I am also competing for an Air Force Rotc scholarship…Would this have any pull in my admissions chances?
If you’re not set on committing to either Brown or Cornell (neither of them are your top choice/dream school, AND more importantly, you cannot afford them,) I would suggest applying SCEA to Yale and RD to Brown and Cornell. Selective college admissions is competitive as a whole, and applying ED to either Brown or Cornell isn’t going to help if you don’t fit what they’re looking for (ex: Brown wants students who will take advantage of the Open Curriculum.)
Brown, Cornell, and Yale are also very different schools. Yale’s famous for the Residential College system they share with Harvard, Brown for the Open Curriculum, and Cornell for Ithaca and “any person…any study (i.e. why they have a wider range of majors than the other Ivies.” While New Haven and Providence are small cities, they are still CITIES, and are pretty different from Ithaca, which is 1+hours away from any large city. You might also consider the ~2x larger undergraduate student body at Cornell vs. Brown and Yale.
You can always consider applying ED2 if you do not receive a favorable result from Yale in December, but this round will be equally or more competitive than ED1 and again, you won’t see an advantage if you don’t fit what they’re looking for (ex: UChicago wants students who vibe with the Core Curriculum, which is the complete opposite of Brown’s curriculum.)
I am not qualified to speak about ROTC’s effects on your chances, but I will add that if you go to a private school, your guidance counselor (especially if your school has a history of sending students to T20s) will be best positioned to advise you on your chances by referring to previous admits’ profiles.
Apply widely (safeties, matches, and reaches,) and hope for the best! 
Hope that helps!
Well, that is the big issue that those trying to get into the most selective college possible through ED And/or restricted EA face. No answer out of that, given the rules that are in place. You have to give up what perceived or real advantage of a single choice early application in order to choose among a group of colleges.
ED, or REA was conceived so that students can let a school know that its the first choice school. So if accepted, the process is over for the applicant and the college has a seat definitely filled. It has evolved into a game of chance to try to get into the most selective school possible. So those in this situation have to make their choices and take their chances.
What is your unweighted GPA, core courses only, on 4 point scale?
Almost certainly your school has more info on how you are likely to do than anybody on CC does.
If your goal is med school (guessing from your ECs & major) I wouldn’t pick any of them -but I get that if you are in an academically competitive school nothing will be more important to you between now and June than how ‘prestigious’ the name of your college is.
And, if your parents can afford to pay full-freight for college and med school, leaving you with an MD & no debt, why not? You are obviously a strong student.
How many students at your HS get into this level of school per year? Are you in that range of student?
Neither Brown nor Cornell offer ED2. It’s either ED to either of them or SCEA to Yale.
I agree that looking at your school’s Naviance and talking to the GC about who has been getting into these schools is important in assessing your chances. In general, your chances are likely best at Cornell ED, depending upon the school. They outright say they give ED candidates a boost. Yale doesn’t make such a claim, don’t think Brown does either and though their stats show a larger % of admits und the early rounds, it’s difficult to actually know how much of a real boost they give unhooked applicants during the early process. Northeast Catholic school girls gets no boost, see nothing in your info that helps much. Are you taking the most difficult courses your school offers? How much advanced math and sciences have you taken?