<p>What area of science especially grabs your interest? What kind of intellectual atmosphere do you want in college? Because based on your list of schools and stats, I think USC would not be a good fit. It is primarily a pre-professional school, and has a very small % of hi stat students such as yourself. They are mostly to be found in the Engineering school.
Even though it is out of state I would look at the College of the University of Chicago [4000 undergraduates], which has superb Science depts [the atom was first split there]. Qualified undergraduates have lots of opportunities to take graduate level courses at Chicago and it’s overall academic reputation is among the top 10 universities in the world. Statistically, the students there are as smart as those at Stanford, Columbia, and the Ivy’s, but because their application, lovingly called called the Uncommon application by Chicago students, serves as a kind of “Geek filter” [as is seems to appeal to many true intellectual types and “filters out” those who don’t want to go to the trouble of figuring out if the school is right for them ] Chicago accepts around 30% of all applicants, so I think it it would be a match- safety for you.
Full disclosure- Son was also a hi stats student, was accepted at many colleges, and matriculated at USC on a full tuition scholarship-[something I’m sure you would be offered if you apply before the scholarship deadline]- but transferred this year to Chicago, where he is much happier, more challenged, and is surrounded by smart students like himself.</p>