I assure you, YES you are making the right choice. If you can only afford 2.5 years at your current university, it’s clear you can’t afford it. Community college is safest bet for anyone who has less money for college, and being debt free (rare nowadays) puts you at a huge financial advantage.
Honestly, the reason kids go to these big glamorous universities is because they have mom and dad paying for everything, or they’re up to their eyeballs in debt. If they were as smart as they claim, they would be in community college too.