Hi 
I’m currently waiting for my admission notifications. My top school is USC but in case I don’t get accepted, which other school would it be wise for me to attend for me to transfer into USC the next year?
I would say SMC but anywhere is fair game because USC accepts lower division transfers. If you have a decent high GPA or sat score you have a chance.
I have a friend who went to ucr for a year and transferred to usc. Good luck
http://www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/articulation/index.html indicates that USC has articulation agreements or histories with both community colleges and some four year schools. Santa Monica is one of the community colleges, but neither Loyola Marymount (which is not the same as Marymount California) nor Occidental is in the list of four year schools.
Where there is no articulation agreement or history, you cannot be sure of what courses will be accepted as equivalent until after you actually transfer.