<p>What application materials do colleges keep on file from previous admissions years?</p>
<p>Probably everything. The better question, however, may be how long do the schools keep this info.</p>
<p>Probably everything, and probably for several years. (I used to work in a college office when I was an undergraduate, and the file room was HUGE.)</p>
<p>As we move to more and more electronic stuff and stuff gets converted (scanned to the records) to electronic, it will get longer and longer. Think of how very long colleges with good job placement centers keep recommendations for students.</p>
<p>None of the three schools that my D applied to for transfers and which she'd applied to the year before as a freshman kept anything. It really depends on the individual college.</p>
<p>Do colleges keep records of prospective student campus tours/visits? Do they connect that information to the application once it comes in?</p>
<p>I believe that colleges do indeed keep copies of application materials from students who actually attend that college for an extended period of time, perhaps forever. This information is sometimes required to be produced as part of a background check or to corroborate other information in a future application for employment, bar admittance, etc.</p>
<p>What is kept can vary among colleges. Laws require them to keep application records for a certain period of time and that time can vary among states but it is usually at least a year (and often longer) if the student is not accepted,or does not attend even if accepted. For students who attend, most keep at least some records indefinitely and with computers they will tend to keep all things that are in the database indefinitely but may destroy paper files after a specified time determined by the college. Also, many now tend to keep at least some computer file indefinitely even for those applicants who do not attend. </p>
<p>As to the question about keeping record of visits to the college and compare those to whether a person applies, I believe Emory does that because it factors showing an interest in the school, such as by a visit, into the admission decision. However, I seriously doubt that is the practice of many including because most do not consider your having shown an interest in the school in the admission decision.</p>