Do colleges communicate with other colleges about applicants? I rescinded an early decision application and im wondering if a regular decision school will know
No schools do not talk to each other. How could they? There are literally thousands of schools. There isn’t enough time in the day to “talk” to other schools about all the different applicants.
When you say you “rescinded” an ED application, are you saying you withdrew yourself before decisions were made? If so, that’s perfectly fine, legal and ethical.
Or are you saying you were offered a spot from a school’s ED admit program and have chosen to renege on your pledge to attend? That’s a wholly different matter.
@T26E4: “Or are you saying you were offered a spot from a school’s ED admit program and have chosen to renege on your pledge to attend? That’s a wholly different matter.”
I believe that’s the essential question. IF one applied ED, was accepted, and reneged without a substantial reason, then one was unethical and (it’s widely alleged) certain (a small number) admissions departments may communicate with others regarding this lack of integrity. I truly don’t KNOW if this actually happens, however, I have read that it does countless times. I have also observed some implied evidence that it may; specifically, secondary schools which such ED-violators attended may, in some future years, have reduced success in placing their seniors in certain universities.
Obviously, none of this is clearly promulgated policy.
The type of information that can be shared between colleges and universities is extremely limited as a result of court cases that have established those boundaries. To my understanding, at the present time only those institutions that recognize each others’ ED policies share any information.
If you were admitted ED, and you turned down that offer, and the ED school cleared you, you are OK for admission at the places that care about each others’ ED offers. But the truth is that most colleges and universities in the US don’t give a rip about those ED places, so if that is the kind of institution that is on your RD list, you are fine no matter what your ED school thinks.
I do know many admissions officers know each other well. Harvard, Penn State, MIT and Yale came to our city and had a joint admission event and have been traveling together for YEARS and told us they share information and stories and are good friends too, so I wouldn’t automatically rule out one school not sharing some stories with another. As long as they are interesting, raise red flags, etc.
I withdrew my application from ed and changed to rd before decisions came out. Im just worried that my top choice in rd might find out and not think im serious about their school
@crystalwaters23 ahh if that’s all it is, I would say you’re fine.
Regarding your actual question: after seeing how chummy the admissions people from Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, Duke, and Penn seemed that traveled together on the Exploring College Options tour, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were off-the-record, “unofficial” communications between these schools. But about an applicant who changed from ED to RD? I doubt they would bat an eyelash over that.
Oh, that is fine. No worries about that, I doubt that info would be passed. People do it all the time. The reason may be that students just decide they want to compare FA packages. Or got cold feet after applying about ED – that is okay, you could always warm up again in April. 
I would not worry about this at all.
You’re just fine, your actions were entirely ethical.
I’m sure they do talk to an extent but they wouldn’t deliberately or maliciously rat you out to other schools. Simply withdrawing your ED app and replacing it with an RD app isn’t catastrophic anyways IMO.
So the school this impacts the most is the one that already knows about it. They figure THEY are now not your first choice. If some other school got this info (which I honestly don’t think they would get, why would anyone bother to tell them?), they might figure that THEY are your new sweetheart. Really, there is no risk and no problem here with the other schools. Your original school may wonder why you did it, though. But that is done now.
“Im just worried that my top choice in rd might find out and not think im serious about their school.”
I agree with intparent. If the other school(s) find out about your actions–which were ethical–it is a signal that you are VERY interested. Good luck to you, and don’t give it a second thought.