You might get more responses if you post this in the Recruiting Forum; I think there's more traffic there.
In the meantime, check out this page of the site, all the way at the bottom where you'll find links to some of the very questions you've asked:
JuCo InfoJuCo, Community College, JC --- all interchangable terms. If he's attending JuCo to continue on to a 4 year, he should get his core classes out of the way there. He does need to be careful to choose basic academic courses that will transfer --- his academic advisor at JuCo should be well versed in that. If he has a few 'target' 4 years, he can also contact them to see which classes will be accepted.
My son transferred from a FL JuCo to Georgia State, and only lost 3 hours. Alas, they were 3 hours he had been told would transfer, so glitches can always happen.
As with any school, some will be stronger academically than others, some conferences are stronger, etc. It's a big country and you don't say where you are. Very broad brush, FL, CA, TX, AZ will have stronger JuCo conferences.
Some have accommodation, some don't. Some have very close ties with D1's, some don't.
I might suggest looking at the rosters of the 4 years your son would like to attend, to see what players have successfully transferred from which JuCo's. Then start your investigation with those schools.
No clearinghouse, generally lower academic requirements. However, he should still go through the Clearinghouse paperwork as he will need to make up any deficiencies (such as language) to be eligible to transfer to an NCAA school.
Have a read of the links and the rosters, narrow your search a bit, and ask all the questions you want!
And have fun...
