I really think it is the marketing of it. I know my junior and senior year of high school it was kind of seen as a "failure" if you only got accepted into CC, like the 13th grade as someone said above.
Plus most kids want to experience that freshman life, big college games, dorm life, parties, meeting people your own age. I sure damn did,
But as I pay off this 10k balance on student loans, if I could do it differently, I would start at CC and only worry about finishing the last two years at a university.