Well, I’ll elaborate as a Gen-Xer; what you describe about financial aid was the exact same scenario we faced.
You are conflating the “exceptional” kid coming out if HS who is offered full rides (who clearly should take advantage of that and go straight into university with that full ride) with an average student who will have to pay for some or all of college. For the latter, community college for 2 years was and still is a good idea.
The most important take-away you’ll learn in this thread, OP. Sometimes it’s a hard lesson to learn, but the sooner you learn it, the better.