Undergraduate school rankings matter very little for admission to medical school or graduate school in the biological sciences. I went to a highly-ranked LAC but my sibling attended a low-ranked regional college that accepts virtually any student with a high school diploma or GED. Both of us got into medical school without any problem, and have had successful careers. So don’t worry about rank; worry about affordability and then let fit be the tiebreaker.
In terms of community college credits, I should clarify: Medical schools want your medical school pre-requisites to be at a 4-year college not a CC, but they aren’t picky about the other credits. So your student could start at a CC, and get the other classes out of the way (Gen Eds, some electives etc) and then transfer after a year.