WICHE/WUE is limited at Wyoming, but there may be more slots from Nevada than Colorado. However, it really doesn’t matter because the new Rocky Mtn Scholars scholarships (for OOS students) also awards 150% tuition for high ACT/gpa combos, and this student would get that. It really is a fun and welcoming school. Laramie is small but Denver is just 2 hours away for major sports, concerts, museums. Everything is included with a student ID - football, basketball, Friday night activities for students, swing dancing, etc. Outdoor activities like camping, hiking, kayaking, mtn biking are all offered through the school at low prices. Steamboat ski area can be reached in about 2 hours.
I guess the best thing I can say about it is that everyone I’ve met seems happy. By far the biggest change in my daughter is her wardrobe. She was a lacy dress girl but now wears Wyo sweatshirts, jeans, flannel shirts. I think at any time about half the students have a “Wyo wardrobe” on - t-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, sweats. At a football game every student has a t-shirt on, most with the school song on the back so the guy sitting behind you can sing along. She doesn’t like football but goes to the games to have fun. It also has a lot of foreign study opportunities, including studying within your major, so a geology department course of study might go to study volcanoes or mountain in Asia or Africa. Pretty interesting.
Colo school of Mine is expensive for OOS students (for instate too!) as Colorado doesn’t heavily finance schools (low taxes, high tuition). My BIL has a grad degree in geology from Oregon State, and spent a lot of time working in Montana. Oklahoma or Ok State would also have good programs in geology. I think your best deals on tuition and opportunities for field work are going to be in the west, and at public universities.