UC favors California resident from CC for transfer after 2 years. They don’t allow to transfer after the first year.
If you are an international student then you will not have the same benefits although you can transfer.
I think it’s better to attend Penn State:
a. CC classes are not as rigorous as classes at UC. It may take longer time for transfer students to complete program in 4 years.
b. You will not be guaranteed to transfer to a top UC college like UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD.
c. Penn State engineering is very good. Penn State Chemical Engineering is on par with UCLA CE.