Anyone else overthinking when to apply early decision vs early action? The biggest tip that helped me was making a 3-column list before I picked anything: first choice, financial aid flexibility, and application readiness.
If one school is clearly your top choice, the net price looks realistic, and your application is strongest by November, ED can make sense. If you still want to compare offers, need merit aid options, or your essays/test scores will improve later, EA usually gives you more room.
What helped me most was asking: if I got into this school tomorrow, would I be fully okay committing? If the answer was not a confident yes, I treated that as an EA or regular decision school.