I have been looking at colleges in the Western US and Canada. I'm wondering which Universities have really good alpine clubs. I've looked at a lot of schools but I'm trying to find out about more, and I figure that schools that have lots of students into climbing would be a good place to look. Let me know what you think.

The quality of a club can vary a lot from year to year - depends who's in it. For that reason, universities usually have an advantage over colleges: PhD programs often take longer than a four-year undergraduate degree, so a school with lots of PhDs is more likely to have someone in the club who's been there long enough to gain some expertise (in climbing, in navigating the school bureaucracy, and in getting along with new students). Even better if the school has affiliated research institutions nearby that a bunch of their formers students can join (while remaining members of the club). Also, the nerdier the culture, the better. I don't know a lot of frat members who climb. Just stay away from string theorists, an actual rope is too distracting for them
Finally, "the West" is a large area. If the school is located in the mountains, you can bet the students are outdoorsy. If the school is in Los Angeles, it might be more of a beach and movies campus. Don't overlook someplace like Stanford, though: a school doesn't have to be right in the mountains to attract climbers: that's why man invented the automobile!

Oregon State has some mountaineering classes and two decent climb gyms (in separate buildings). THey use to have a climbing club, but I think it died off 4-6 years ago. The classes are ok, you learn stuff, you use the walls a bit (haul systems etc). I have climbed with a few other students on a few occasions. Would have happened more, but I didn't really get into it until it my last year there (this last year). I will have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my entire time at OSU. The mountains aren't next door, rather a few blocks off, so to speak. Hoods about 2.5-3 hrs away, Adams about 4, the Sisters about 3, Thielsen 3.5, Washington 2.5....etc.

Find a school in a area you like and look at the class library to see what physical activity courses they offer (1 credit ones at OSU, PAC for short). If you can find something in there, say rock climbing, you'll meet the people.

Why limit yourself to academic alpine clubs when there are so many wonderful regional alpine clubs? You can attend meetings/outings, meet other climbers, and find partners in the regional clubs just as you can in the academic clubs - and the regional clubs probably have a lot more members.

California Mountaineering Club, Colorado Mountaineering Club, Washington Alpine Club, American Alpine Club, Alpine Club of Canada, etc.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am just looking for a few more schools that I have not researched yet, so thanks. I know that there are other options than University clubs, it's just an idea.