What do you plan on studying at University? I went to University of Colorado in Boulder and I had a blast. I also took some flight lessons at Journey´s Aviation at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport because a friend of mine was an instructor there, and the two are very close. I always thought that they were a decent school, and apparently they now have a location at the Boulder Municipal Airport. Next door to Journey´s at Rocky Mountain is McAir. I knew two guys who went there and they thought it was a decent outfit as well.

There is also a school at Boulder Municipal called Specialty Flight Training, but I have no experience or knowledge about them.

University of Colorado does not have an aviation program, but they had a flying club the last time I was there.

Also, you didn´t mention Arizona, which is in the West, but I can also recommend Sonoran Wings in Tucson, AZ. The nearby University is University of Arizona.

check out http://www.flightschoollist.com/flig...s/colorado.php

If I had to choose between living in Colorado or Arizona, I´d pick Colorado because I also love skiing/snowboarding, I like grass (very hard to find in Arizona), and you can actually enjoy the summer. The things I liked about living in Arizona... close to California, it was relatively warm all the way to early December, and warm again in February, and lots of taco stands...