There are many fine schools out there as well as bad ones.... personally I attended Spartan School of Aeronautics and felt the instruction was superb! The aircraft are well maintained, instructors knowledgeable, and ground schools did more than just prepare you for the FAA exam. I feel that attending a good flight school has advantages over the local FBO. As mentioned above the availability of multiple aircraft means less cancellations. You also have full time instructors which means you can fly every day the weather allows. This is a big plus because time between flights when learning means more $$ spent. Also depending upon where you go a degree can be combined with the flight program, I don't know of any FBO's that offer an accredited degree.