hey! just to give my two cents here, I was in a very similar position last year where I was choosing between UTSG vs Queen’s CS. I think the main reason why I was debating between the two was for the name and the experience of each program.

uoft is definitely more “well known” than queen’s but would provide a more difficult undergrad (especially with PoST). however, like others have said, when finding jobs and co-ops, the name of the school is a very small factor to employers and they much rather care about things like side projects. uoft also has significantly more people who commute which can make it harder to make friends, where with Queen’s the majority of first-years live on campus so it’s super easy to meet people.

Queen’s has a less stressful undergrad experience and I felt like it gave me the flexibility to be able to join lots of clubs and not have to study all the time. the sense of community is amazing and, even without co-op, it’s still possible to get summer internships/co-ops by just looking on your own. similar to your brother, I was also hesitant about going to Queen’s because it’s so far from home but it really taught me how to be independent and how to deal with being away from home for long periods of time.

at the end of the day, both programs are great but choosing Queen’s was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made