What colleges did you apply to?
Which did you get in?
Which didn’t you get in?
Transfers don’t get merit scholarships.
Talk to somebody in the counseling center about all of this.
Malcolm Gladwell says it is better to be a big fish in a small pond…you have the chance to stand out.
http://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwells-david-and-goliath-2013-10
Do your parents live in California?
If not, it is not easy to get in state residency. You would to live in California a year before you start any classes and live there and not go “home” for the summer.
https://www.ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html