Since this thread is made for UofW applicants; I wanted to share my thoughts and experience on this university. I did my full undergrad (2005-10) in Electrical Engineering - B.A.Sc from there.
Facts:
(1) It's a mid-sized university with approximately 15,000 UG students and only 1,000 Grad students.
(2) It's categorized as a comprehensive university which means it has competitive UG programs and fair bit of research.
(3) It has always been ranked in the mid range of all Canadian universities. It ranks 10th among the comprehensive universities and would probably rank between 16 to 20 out of all (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankings_of_universities_in_Canada).
(4) It's sort of well known for automotive engineering, law, nursing and education programs.
Advantages:
(1) It has orthodox campus. It's not like UofToronto or any downtown university where you have to go from building to building on high traffic streets. Rather it has nice calm and quiet campus which to me is students friendly.
(2) It has a very good Career Centre (http://www.uwindsor.ca/cce/)
(3) It has a good Int'l Students Centre (http://www.uwindsor.ca/isc/) who assist a lot in SP, WP, TRV applications/extensions.
(4) It has a diverse environment both among students and faculties.
(5) The new engineering building may open new doors to innovation and technology
(6) It has a renowned sports team named Windsor Lancers
(7) The city offers lower cost of living
(8 ) The city of Windsor is in the most southern part of Canada. As a result, the winter isn't as harsh as any other place in Canada (except Vancouver).
(9) Detroit, MI, USA is also 10 min drive from this university. Windsor-Detroit is the most busiest border in Canada.
Disadvantages:
(1) Employers and other institutions are very much aware of the university's reputation. Local Windsor employers won't have much choices but any other across the country would keep it at the bottom level when hiring.
(2) The drive force of Windsor was automotive industries. But sadly, it collapsed 5/6 years back. Few Ford and GM plats shut down and the remaining are facing challenges, thus impacting unemployment and local economy. It also affects UofW because a university's funding and research projects largely depends on local companies. Many I know had to find a job in Detroit after losing in Windsor.
(3) The faculties of UofW aren't top class. I may not have a PhD to talk about professors but I can talk bluntly about Electrical & Computer Engineering department. This if full of Persian professors. They run their own politics and hire tons of Masters students from Iran and other middle-eastern countries. I'm not being racist but at times I felt I could teach my GA. I've talked with other Int'l students from Computer Science and Business; they weren't satisfied either. The reason again lies behind the university's reputation. It cannot afford a good prof and good prof will not want to come to a non-reputed university (same goes with Canadian students).
(4) It doesn't have full medical school and limited PhD programs and without these facilities, it will never reach top 10 of Canada.
I'm not trying to discourage you to get into the university I passed from. All I'm trying to draw a true picture before you so that you know what you're getting into. It still depends on the individual how he/she studies and excels and thus nails an interview to get a job in order to settle down.
