Ignoring the fact of if I can pay for it, why don’t you believe USC will push through? Because I am planning on writing my appealing letter if I don’t.
USC is ranked about the same as UCB/UCLA. 3.6/1410 would make it a reach if you’d applied for political science, but for CS it’s nearly out of reach (they want to see stats like 1500+, reading the CDS indicates 770math is likely average for STEM majors - remember that to have a real shot you would need 3.75 UW/1500 as those would be the top25% threshold and CS is more competitive than most majors). Acceptance rate is under 20% which means it’s a reach for everyone. It’s one of these schools where you must apply thinking you wont get in but will take a shot.
You do have some pluses: Athena HACK is terrific, but did you or your team get noticed or achieve something? Do you have a recommendation from your USC internship? Do you attend a super competitive CA HS?
In other words, realistically USC may or may not happen. It’s a high reach and would be out of reach without the internship and AthenaHack. I’ll be happy for you if USC pulls through since you’re very invested so do update your thread.
Can you list your parents’ budget (how much they can afford from income and savings))
and calculate net price* for each university? This would help adults on this website calculate your best value.
*(Tuition, fees, room, board) - (scholarships, grants)=
How many days does your school grant students for college visits?
CPP, Chapman, should be easy to arrange.
SDSU, UCR, and UCM are more spread out.
If you only have 3 or 4 days (as is common at many high schools), what universities would you visit?
UCR is about 30 to 45 minutes east of CP and about 60 minutes east of Chapman.