The junior college route can work well. I went to Orange Coast College for 1.5 years and then transferred to Stanford. Many of my friends transferred to Berkeley. There are some really good instructors at junior colleges here in California. You'll have to do your research to find out which ones they are, but when you do, they will often take a personal interest in your success. You'll save a ton of money, get the education you deserve (read this again), and leave with a nice brand name on your resume. Highly recommended.
The only downside is that most of the value of college isn't the classes or even the professors, but the relationships and friendships you form with your student peers. It's tougher to find people you'd want to be friends with at a junior college, and when you transfer, you'll have to start all over again. But it worked out fine for me.
No kiddin'? I wen to OCC as well! It's a good school... I was pre-med and comp sci back then, the quality of the courses was very high at OCC, it prepared me well for later opportunities.
There is a theory that community/junior colleges offer higher quality of education for the first two years because that is all they do. Certainly at OCC that seemed to hold true.
The only downside is that most of the value of college isn't the classes or even the professors, but the relationships and friendships you form with your student peers. It's tougher to find people you'd want to be friends with at a junior college, and when you transfer, you'll have to start all over again. But it worked out fine for me.
Fred