Okay; just checking to see what might or might not fit. (Was thinking in terms of how your record might appeal to Coast Guard AO’s, even though I know you said you weren’t specifically focused on disaster relief going forward. But it’s good to know that you aren’t looking for a service academy environment; we do see students who consider the academies for the free education, and don’t give enough weight to whether that’s really the experience they want.) I still think Conn College merits consideration, as a terrific New England LAC that isn’t quite as reachy as Bates but has many of the same qualities that you’re looking for.
Have you considered the Pacific Northwest? It’s very green and very much a change of scene from NV, even though it’s in the west. Lewis & Clark and Whitman have already been mentioned (Whitman will give a merit pre-read on request). There’s also U of Puget Sound, and Willamette U (particularly strong for poli sci & pre-law), and if you’re considering Catholic U’s, Seattle U and U of Portland. An affordable safety in the PNW would be Southern Oregon U in Ashland. Lovely and green, with a very private-LAC-like vibe, but it’s a public U that participates in WUE, so “sticker price” for a Nevada resident would be only 37.5k/year, and you’d likely get an additional merit discount.
As for ED1 vs ED2, while ED1 can be inherently more advantageous, I think that cancels out for you because the obvious response to an ED1 application at a competitive school like Bates, if not a straight-up “no,” is going to be “Let’s table this and see if his senior fall grades continue the momentum from junior year…” and thus you’ll get deferred to RD, best-case. So I think your chances would be better (albeit not great tbh) in ED2 where they might be more willing to tilt toward a binding acceptance.
One more northeast LAC that hasn’t come up but might be worth considering is Hobart & William Smith, in Upstate NY. Maybe the Political Entrepreneurship track within the Politics major would appeal… and they offer a 3+3 Accelerated Pathway Scholar Program with Cornell Law School. I believe they’re relatively generous with merit as well.