The problem with this is the OP was hoping for merit aid, and I don’t think any Uni goes back and gives it to applicants in the deferred category, no matter how much both parties come to agree on the strong interest of the applicant or their outstanding qualifications. So at some level the “Tuftsing” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I used to be against binding Early Decision, but have come to think that its clarity is better than Adcoms trying to divine whether top applicants are really interested or not.