We have also heard from various colleges (not specifically Case though) that merit money is normally not part of ED, because merit money is used to attract top applicants to choose their school over others. So if a student has committed upfront to a college via ED, the college does not need to allocate merit money to “sign” the student. We’ve been counseled by our high school that if we’re seeking merit money, to not do ED, but do EA or RD.