Community colleges are awesome. My high school let me take a class at a local community college during the summer to make up for an “incomplete” mark I got during the school year. I remember the class being made up of people like me who didn’t have a good run in high school for whatever reason and were trying to get their lives on track. Or people who had moved to the US from other countries with very little and were trying to improve their lives. I enjoyed that class, and for someone who had grown up in a relatively sheltered suburban town it helped open my eyes to the real world.

If I had not been accepted into college out of high school (and I’m sure I came very, very close) I probably would have gone the same route as you. My state even has a program where if you get good grades at a community college for 2 years, you can transfer to a state university and also get a huge discount on tuition (effectively paying community college prices to attend a flagship state university).

Out of HS I attended a 'flagship' school for 5 years, then returned to my hometown where a CC had been built in the interim. So the differences were obvious.

For -some- futures, doing the first year (or two) in a CC can be a better choice. Getting required electives out of the way, for example, probably at a lower cost. Getting feet wet and all the Frosh experiences out of the way.

OTOH, the competition and expertise attracted by a 'flagship' can be motivating and invaluable, from the get-go ... the opportunities to explore far more numerous ... not to mention the more diverse cultural and relationship environment.