With good grades in high school, scholarships are often available...sometimes to the extent of being almost totally free. Let your kids know early what they are working towards: free or discounted college. The sooner they take personal interest in that, the better. Get them looking forward to this. Two years in community college, and two years at a state school, can lead to a very serviceable degree. (Non-flag ship, "directional" state schools are cheaper to begin with, and they sometimes incentivize hard working students, because they want to steal them from the flagship school.)
And the degree line on the resume of the person who spent their last two years at the state university is exactly the same as the degree line on the resume of a person who spent 4 years at the state university.