I feel like students choose Penn as their first choice when they apply ED. The problem with RD is the students from the “if-y” situations I mentioned in my last posts where the NPC is not accurate cannot compare financial aid (it is possible that Chicago, MIT, or CalTech award better aid) and need to make a commitment right away (they cannot apply RD without first getting out of their ED contract).
I know people should only apply ED if they are sure they can afford it - but it is not inclusive for students for whom the NPC is innacurate and therefore have no way of knowing if they can afford the school (and that goes against the inclusive outreach that all the elite schools make a big deal of). I do not think the solution should simply be forgetting about those people - and that is what new super-restricted ED process at Penn perpetuates.