<p>I'm sure they've probably thrown out the rejected applications already but what about the accepted students? Do they ultimately dispose of them once the admitted students are happily matriculated? Or after they graduate? Do they have a secret underground lair where all the apps are stored for eternity?</p>
<p>Just wondering.</p>
<p>I believe they keep all applications(in digital form) in case they need to review the file for some reason(reapplying or some unknown). Even the smallest university likely has the capabilities to store all the applications on a harddrive somewhere in a back-room.</p>
<p>They also do keep apps of rejected students in case they get transfer applications from them. Then they reopen their old files.</p>
<p>Yeah, or for statistical reasons later on.</p>
<p>I know that most schools still had at least parts of my apps from the previous year, when I had been rejected.</p>
<p>Most (if not all) colleges have retention policies under which they keep application information of those rejected for one or more years (it varies) after the school year of rejection and then toss it, although many may now keep an electronic record longer because the policies were created when most stuff was paper and they did not want to keep the paper (storage costs for all that paper can be expensive). The same applies to those admitted who do not enroll. For those who attend the retention policies usually require that the application materials be kept for as long as the student is in the college plus some years thereafter.</p>