'We have a full house': Move-in day at University of Windsor

Hundreds of new university students have come to Windsor, ready to call the city home for the next few years.

That's because Sunday was move-in day at the University of Windsor's residence buildings.

For Brynn McNear, who is starting her first year in UWindsor's criminology program, moving into a dorm represents an opportunity to "meet new people" and "get some new experiences."

"Living in a small town, it gets pretty boring," she said, just minutes after arriving on campus with her family from Blenheim.

"You don’t get to meet a whole lot of new people."

According to university officials, about 500 students moved in into a residence building Sunday, including some from other provinces.

About one-fifth is international students.

"We're really excited to welcome them and really help introduce them to their Canadian experience," said University of Windsor's Residence Life Team Lead Lynn Charron.

"I think living in residence offers them a really unique opportunity to meet a lot of new people, people from other countries as well as within Canada."

She said this year's move-in day is extra special as it kicks off the first year that students can experience a more traditional on-campus experience, compared to the previous two years.

"We have a full house this year. All of the Welcome Week events are in person. All of our events in residence are in person. So we're so excited for everyone to be returning this year," added Charron.

The milestone day follows the release of a recent survey which says about 40 per cent of post-secondary students in Canada, mostly from Ontario, are seriously considering dropping out of their post-secondary institution.

McNear said she is "pretty confident" that she will finish her four years of studies as a criminology graduate.

"It’s something I’ve been interested in for a really long time. I’ve always known that I wanted to do it," she said.

Not all students who moved to the UWindsor campus are coming for their undergraduate program. Andre Carbone said he has come to Windsor to pursue his master's degree in social work.

I spent a couple years trying to get into this Master’s program," said Carbone.

So I think that, in my case in particular, I’m here to stick this one out."

The first day of fall classes for most students at the University of Windsor is Thursday. Welcome Week events will continue until Friday.