<p>Wow, it sounds like this whole ED thing becomes a whirlwind of paranoia and legalistic nitpicking at some schools!</p>
<p>On a personal level, regardless of whether or not there are any formal or informal sanctions in place, I would try to be both pragmatic and honorable at the same time. I would not apply ED if I believe there was something less than an 90% chance that I could attend given current information. However, I would not lock myself into an unaffordable school if I received a bad financial aid package. If you’re not comfortable planning that far ahead, I don’t think applying ED makes any logical sense. There isn’t anything wrong with regular decision or early action, and if you already know today that there’s a high probability that you can’t attend then that negates any strategic advantage of ED.</p>