I don’t really buy into the “waste” notion on REA or ED. I’ve seen so many kids get trapped by their own game theory… heading off to Penn with dread because they didn’t REALLY love Penn, but everyone told them that if they don’t apply early, they won’t get in (especially for legacies) when they really wanted “fill in the blank” other college. Or pining away for Dartmouth while they head off to Middlebury because early at Middlebury was a reasonably sure thing, but “wasting” their card on Dartmouth was risky. And wondering- did I play it too safe?
This isn’t a game. I know I’m in the minority on CC- but I think kids should apply early if and only if they have a clear first choice, and if and only if their stats and everything else make them a reasonable applicant. And then forget about it- and work on the other applications which hopefully will be to a balanced list of reach, match and safe colleges which are likely affordable and where the kid would be happy to go.
OP- you love Harvard? Go for it. Don’t spend the next four years at JHU which has absolutely fantastic resources in neuro if you’re going to constantly be wondering if you could have gotten into Harvard if you’d applied early. Apply, and forget about it while you work on the “not Harvard but pretty fantastic college” list. You could have a 4.0 in addition to everything else you have and STILL get rejected (in fact, very high probability of that). This could be the year when Harvard has thousands of “I love Neuro” kids but is digging deep to find the kids who have studied Greek and Latin and hope to major in Classics, or the year that the Adcoms get excited to read the applications from the kids who are published poets and playwrights. You have no idea who else is in the pile.
Go for it, and then get going on your likely/safety list.