Northwestern is a highly selective college. California is a big state with a very competitive applicant pool. I don think you are disadvantaged applying to Northwestern but you also don’t gave a geographical advantage. Looks like maxed out course rigor but have a lowish GPA and test scores that are good but not great. Some of the schools you’ve mentioned are too much of a stretch but Purdue is a slam dunk. ED is going to be most helpful at colleges where the difference between ED and RD admit rates are greatest and where this can’t be explained solely by athletes or legacy. Sadly, it’s hard for those of us not working directly in admissions how much ED helps. If you are top 10 percent of your class, you aren’t doing too badly. How competitive is your high school?