Having just gone through this process with my son, who was admitted to his ED school a week ago and who has a profile similar to yours, I’m also of the opinion that it might be worth the risk to forego the ED2 app to Wash U (where you would almost certainly be admitted ED2) and let the RD round play out. This said, if you really like Wash U and prefer the high likelihood of getting into a specific school over letting the admissions gods decide for you in March, it makes perfect sense to go the ED2 route.
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I don’t see the problem.
To me, this screams WashUStL. My best guess is that you will be admitted to WashUStL whether you apply ED or RD, therefore I see your chance for admission as well above average. To complicate matters, I also suspect/guess that your app to U Penn will also receive very strong consideration in the RD round. Nevertheless, for biochem, WashUStL may be the better school.
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WashU really is very strong for what I tend to call the “red” Biology fields. Also good, but less so, for the “green” fields. But this sounds like a “red” kid.
That said, so are some of their other RD schools. Like, Hopkins, say. And of course Penn. And really Cornell, although Cornell is probably even better at some “green” stuff (they do both sides very well).
What are the two red and green sides of biology?
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In the usage I am familiar with, red originally referred to blood, but in this context it loosely means fields of biology focused below the organism level that are often primarily or exclusively studied in labs or perhaps hospitals and the like. So, biochemistry, molecular biology, cellular biology, virology, immunology, genetics, pharmacology, neuroscience, and so on.
Green referred to actual natural environments and in this context loosely means fields focused on the organism level or higher and that might involve field studies, or possibly farms or so on. So, zoology, botany, entomology, ecology, forestry, wildlife management, animal science, various agricultural and food sciences, and so on.
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Thank you for the explanation. My daughter was just accepted ED1 at WashU and will start in the fall. She really likes natural science, especially biology and chemistry, so I guess that makes her red.
To the OP, good luck with your decision. There are some good posts above for you to contemplate over break.
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She is going to loveeee it. It’s fantastic!!! 
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Congratulations!!!
ended up taking everyone’s advice and not ED2ing WashU! was waitlisted but I just got into Penn!!! if any junior reads this, don’t settle for ED, go for your dream school! thank you everyone for the advice!
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Fantastic!! Time to buy a hoodie and celebrate! Go Quakers!
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Congrats from a Quaker Mom!
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