<p>“… binding ED will limit your ability to negotiate for school scholarship $.”</p>
<p>When a school offers financial aid at ED time it’s because they really, really want the applicant (it’s not for the money coming from full list payers, which is the other reason schools like ED). Don’t think of it as negotiation; you’re trying to get them to offer enough (if they didn’t the first time) to make the school affordable for you, so that you can accept their ED offer.</p>