As a father whose son went the JuCo route, I'll just add it's not a bad route to go. Not everyone gets the opportunity to attend and play for Ivy's or P5 D1's (or D1's in general). Our son was a slightly above average student (2.9 GPA), but a very good baseball player. Ended up at a JuCo 250 miles from home. Qualified for a State Grant that covered 95% of his tuition. Outside of that his expenses were just for books, room (Apartment), food and gas. This helped alot as our funds were limited. No way we could afford a 4 year university tuition.
While a JuCo is not the ultimate college experience, it IS a college. And yes the first two years are basically the same courses one would take at a 4 year university or college. The experience is what you make of it. At first son concentrated on studies and baseball, but by the end of the first semester he was attending basketball games and finding other things to do on campus when time permitted.
Baseball wise he made the most of it. Managed to eventually earn a spot on the travel team in the fall - out of 35 on the roster only 25 go on away games. Also earned a spot as the DH for most games and played some games at his position (1B). His sophomore year he was a team leader batting over .300, was the starting 1B and hit 27 doubles (2nd highest in the nation among DII JuCo's). That stat got him noticed by a DII university who eventually offered a nice scholarship where he did well - batted over .300, hit 6 HR's, hit 12 doubles, all conference (1st team) and also the team won their conference championship. JuCo can be very competitive ball. Sadly after one year at the DII university he gave up baseball (did not extend the scholarship as his grades slipped), but he is now in his last semester at another university and should have his Bachelor's by the end of this summer.
Sports aside, my second daughter graduated from a local JuCo and went on to a big 4 year in state university. All her courses transferred to a state program that guarantees acceptance and course transfer for JuCo students who maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA while at Junior College. She went on to earn a BA and now works for a DoD contractor doing work for the Navy. Makes almost as much as I do after only 4 years.
So yes, JuCo can be a good route.