I transferred into USC from East Los Angeles College, so the community college doesn’t always matter. When I tell people I’m from East LA, a lot of people don’t even know where it is, lol. It’s like they think it’s not in Los Angeles 
A large portion probably come from SMC because compared to other community colleges, those students are likely more dedicated in attempting to transfer and want to stay local. This is likely why SMC feeds so many students into UCLA as well. They students that want to transfer either want to go to UCLA or USC. The director for the orientation program claimed that she was a transfer from SMC as well, so it’s definitely a popular community college. I don’t recommending going completely out of your way just to attend Santa Monica College.