Starting from your frosh HS year you seem to have Ivy schools in your eyes (http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/common-application/1952215-will-bs-on-my-finals-ruin-my-chances-of-getting-into-an-ivy-league.html) so your protests that " I am not a big school name kind of person" ring a bit hollow.
My advice is follow what seem to be your long-held dreams and apply ED to an Ivy. As for the chance to “learn practical stuff to prepare for my career” you do that with internships (primarily) and also by taking part in student engineering clubs and activities. And should your interests in engineering change then the name-brand recognition of an Ivy will serve you better than many of your other options.