In terms of name power, UVic wins hands-down. I did my undergrad at UofC (in Biology majoring in Ecology) and went on to grad school in Biology at UofT and SFU, so I'm speaking from experience. I've met some very smart biology profs and students from UVic, in particular I have high regard for Brad Anholt in biology and Pauline van den Driessche - a math prof that does some bleeding edge mathematical biology. Because UVic has an active scientific research (vs. MRU), you'll get better quality of scientists. This doesn't necessarily translate into better teachers per se, but usually the two are tied together strongly. That said, I had two close colleagues from Augustana that have gone on to good things. In the end, where you did your schooling matters, at least at the surface level.
And yes - living away from home to do university is awesome times.
I can provide more details if needed - send me a PM if interested!
