My interpretation from your statements is that your family is full-pay (will not qualify for any need-based money) and that the budget is $60-70k/year at the most. If that is wrong, please let me know.
Based on that interpretation, eliminate Georgetown, Yale, Brown, Columbia, and UPenn, as none of them offer merit aid. That leaves these institutions, where I’ve listed the percentage of students without need receiving merit aid and the average amount of merit aid those students receive.
BU: 9%, $30,459
Simmons: 96%, $24,345
Johns Hopkins: 1%, $14,093
Bryn Mawr: 40%, $23,168
Tufts: 3%, $3,166 → I’d take this off because this won’t meet budget
U. of Michigan: 25%, $3,702
Duke: 1%, $73,883
BU has a chance of getting you where you want, JHU and Duke have microscopic chances, Tufts has virtually no chance, and Michigan is probably going to be in that upper price range after merit aid even if you get any (i.e. above $60k).
Simmons, Bryn Mawr, and BU are the ones that are most likely to come in below budget, and Michigan will probably be about the top of your budget. The rest of your list I think is practically impossible to get under budget. Thus, I would urge you to reconsider your list. If you need help brainstorming possibilities, let us know.
I’m not sure if you understood @thumper1’s post. Brown does not offer EA. It ONLY offers ED or RD. Thus, if you’re not applying ED there, then you’re applying RD. (source)
Tufts does not offer EA either. It offers ED1, ED2, and RD. (source)