I did my first two years at community college in California and transferred to a CSU. I lived in a suburban Los Angles county town and most of the kids went to CC. “Going away” to college was an East Coast thing and no one I knew did it.
Obviously it was a while ago, but I don’t recall the classes being particularly easy. In fact, as I have shared previously, I was put on academic probation at the CC. It was a much needed wake up call. Once I transferred, I ended up making the Dean’s list, so I guess I must have learned something from my CC classes.
Edit: I think there is a lot of regional snobbery about community college. In California, at least where I lived, it was the normal progression. I now live on the East Coast and, while there is a very good local community college, it is definitely a bit looked down upon when kids choose that route. I am sure there are CC’s that don’t have great educational standards, but my experience is that they do a good job preparing students for four year universities.