It always made the most sense to start out at a CC, if for nothing else than to not go broke just taking your basics. I'm a bit annoyed by the whole high school label, but it can be accurate in some ways.
Where I went, it didn't have the high school vibe when it came to cliques and all of that. No one's all that popular, because frankly, it doesn't seem like most people care to expend the energy in such things. Most people just show up, do their thing and get out.
I always thought the notion of going away to school to be on your own was a tad overrated, since in most cases, your parents were funding the bulk, if not all of your excursion into "freedom."