My son had big plans and high aspirations until he actually finished his early apps. An ED and a half dozen EAs, and he was DONE The first accept he got from an EA school with a scholarship and he was all set to go there. Gone was the Pathway B if he did not get into his ED school He was set and done with thinkng about colllege.
I think that is why EA confers some admissions advantages in that a lot of EA kids probably take up the acceptance offers just to be done with it all