This. The OP should lower her sights a bit.
And, the suggestion of Wake Forest certainly fits the “work hard, play hard” criterion.
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The OP was specifically asking about an ED choice. The OP is stressed about ED. I don’t see the point in wasting a valuable ED on a Safety or a Match. If she/he wants help on safeties and matches she/he can ask later.
Her/his ED choices are very solid.
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I was quoting from @tsbna44’s post regarding the broader picture (as I understood it), which is where my comment was directed.
Note that, at this time, the OP appears to be researching which college might make the best ED selection, and seems to be seeking, specifically, comments on, and suggestions for, reaches that meet their criteria.
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In college, there’s no such thing, especially if you’re trying to get into medical school. If you want to play hard, you can’t expect a top GPA. You get to pick one option with a consequence. Choose wisely 
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@coolguy40, that isn’t always the case, it is student dependent. Some can manage both, but of course they know how to prioritize. I had one of those kids and they ended up just fine.
Some, but not all, or even most. I would say, the best way not to get burned is not to play with the fire in the first place.
I don’t know what your ECs are, how unique, involved, etc., and your awards, but top schools get apps ED from people with perfect scores and grades + everything else. And, remember, many schools will be Test Optional again for the upcoming cycle. This opened the floodgates at top schools this year.
Here are things to think about in choosing your ED school: 1) Did the school accept a proportionate % of TO applicants? Duke did (I think Brown did too). That means if 40% applied without scores they accepted 40% without scores. That leaves 40% less score spots. And, no one knows how schools handled these reviews/selections. If there was a “score” pile, the kids submitting are submitting equally high and higher scores and GPAs. Unless you have something really special, you’d probably do better with a school that took more kids with scores than those that applied TO. 2) How many kids at your school are applying ED to whichever school you are? How do you compare to them? If you have Naviance/scoir, look at that, but it is messed up when TO is thrown in. 3) are you geographically diverse for that school - if you are, especially for a LAC, your ED chances are better.
Also, I wouldn’t bet on the ED 1/ ED 2 strategy, especially to a Vandy for instance, unless you’re really a super-strong stand out candidate (even then, you never can tell). I don’t know how much of a bump you really get when some places take over 1/2 the class ED 1.
Just some thoughts. We went through the process this year and had many upset kids who didn’t get into their ED schools and were left hoping for admission to ivies+ for RD, with lots of WLs. We have a small school and 6 kids ED’d to Duke. I would have suggested a few ED elsewhere. Duke took 1 TO URM, 1 very smart URM/1st gen with af good score and great grades/rigor, and our S, great stats and accomplishments + legacy. 2 of the rejected kids ended up at their safeties and another at Emory (great school, not a work hard/play hard that I know of, and we’re lucky that they take a good # of kids from our school (a geographically diverse rigorous private)).
Moral: pick your ED wisely!
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I have one of those too, she sleeps 5 hours a night, at most, is always involved in many things, and likes to have a good time. She excels in time management (had extracurriculars in high school taking up 5+ hours a day, she was my only kid who pulled all nighters in high school) and is a slave to her agenda pad (she would schedule snack breaks, showers, exercise, Instagram browsing). One of her brothers is the complete opposite, he’s headed to college in the fall and I’m very nervous (I just noticed he signed up for the engineering orientation, he’s a business major).
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I agree with the ED1/ED2 strategy.
If a school doesn’t admit many ED2, but admits a lot more ED1, then know that risk by not placing that school in ED1.
Know the differences in acceptance rates between ED and RD too. Some schools have a bigger bump in odds than others, and some even advertise they far prefer ED.
Know the stats, because you are playing odds at a casino. Human subjectiveness and emotion is involved in admissions decisions. So, be well aware of the odds when making your decisions. Know your pain threshhold for rejection. Odds of ED success are higher Vanderbilt ED 1, Wake Forest ED 2, than Duke ED 1, Vanderbilte ED 2 for instance. Doesn’t mean you choose the higher odds. Just be aware of them.
Duke is a good place to play your ED card - the proportion of students accepted in the ED round is meaningfully higher (even when considering recruited athletes, legacy, etc.)
Given the schools you like, I suggest you also check out Wash U (reach), Rice (reach) and Wake Forest (lower reach).
Are you in state for UT Austin?
I’d argue that applying ED to a highly selective university is not necessarily the best strategy for med school, especially for anyone who would not be an extremely competitive applicant in the RD round. As I mentioned earlier, Duke always has a huge number of prospective pre-meds, and the majority get burned out or weeded out before senior year. One wonders whether they might’ve become doctors if they’d attended a less selective college instead. There’s something to be said for being a big fish in a small pond.
On the other hand, many students change majors and career goals, and the nice thing about attending a top university like Penn or Cornell is that they’re strong in pretty much every academic discipline.
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Thank you ! I am by no means stating that these are the only colleges I’ll be applying to. I have many ideas for matches and safeties. Just needed some help deciding between my top choices.
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I would add again to please share your safeties. Too many posts on CC start with “I thought I had enough safeties…”.
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Solid even with a 30 math ACT score? Idk, just asking.
Make sure you can afford to pay if you are going ED. One thing we don’t know is their monetary situation. Even if they can afford, do they want to ?
If I needed aid, I would never apply ED. We’ve all seen people who guesstimated their aid from NPCs only to find out they were far off.
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