Need help with my school list

I’m a Transfer student from a California CC, and was planning on applying to lots of private colleges; I’m not a huge fan of the UCs.
Stats:
3.95 GPA
Major: Biology
Units Completed: 75
ECs: Decent (400 hours clinical volunteering, 200 hours Tutoring, 50 hours shadowing, 150 hours research etc.)
Ethnicity: African-American
Low-income and first-gen college student

SAT: 1470 (taken after 1 try, with no studying. Will retake if I need to.)

This is my school list so far:

Vanderbilt
Cornell
Northeastern
Notre Dame
USC (already accepted, have deferred my enrollment)
Pitzer
CMC
UC Davis (safety, although USC has guaranteed that I will be able to enroll next year.)

What other schools should I be adding on?

University of Rochester?

The schools on your list are very different, from an LAC to larger schools with big sports. What qualities are you looking for in a school? Size, geography, setting, etc.

Assuming your are pre-med based on your ECs. What is your plan B should med school not work out?

Are USC and UC Davis affordable? What can you afford to pay/year?

I can’t imagine the same student bring happy at Pitzer and CMC. They are physically adjacent, but far apart in campus vibe.

@taverngirl Thanks for the suggestion! Will be researching the University of Rochester more thoroughly.

@Mwfan1921 I’m looking for a school that has lots of things to do, outside of academics. I’m not too concerned about whether it’s in a big city, or a college town. Cornell is the exception though (lots of school clubs.) I’m looking for a smaller school as well, with small class sizes, and lots of interaction with faculty. An LAC would be ideal, but they’re very hard to get into for Transfer Students; at least, the ones that give good FA are.
And yes, I am pre-med. I don’t really have a back-up plan, as of yet. I’m going to do a cycle of both DO and MD. If that doesn’t work out, I’m going to take a gap year, retake the MCAT if need be, hedge my bets and only apply DO. If that doesn’t work, I’ll do it again. No clue what to do if I don’t get in by the 3rd Cycle.

I can afford about $20k/year. I know UC Davis will be affordable, but I’m not too sure about USC. They’re unpredictable when it comes to Financial Aid.

@intparent Can you please elaborate? I visited Pitzer, liked the campus vibe, and assumed CMC would be similar, because they’re both LACs in the same area.

Pitzer is very liberal. CMC has more of a pre-professional conservative vibe.

Look at Case Western Reserve U. a smaller private science oriented school in Ohio. Very good biology program, and good clinical volunteering options at Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, and VA hospital. Its a smaller school compared to USC, in a smaller colder city, but still easy to fly from major California airports to Cleveland. Case Western will be a tad easier than Vanderbilt for transferring in. They are about the same quality for premedical education, although some people prefer Nashville over Cleveland for weather. Nashville is a lovely place, very friendly, but Cleveland gives you an “east coast like” experience, neighborhoods, architecture, art, music, top basketball team, baseball team, red brick roads, culture, etc.

Cornell is a wonderful academic experience, and also in a fun college town , if you can adjust to the isolated feel, walking a hilly campus, with stunning beauty, and the cold weather. There are direct flights from Denver to Syracuse NY, which
is one hour away from Ithaca. Look at the airplane flight costs directly to Ithaca, its expensive. And you have to fly to DC, Philadelphia or Detroit first and take Delta Airlines to get to Cornell by airplane. It will add expenses over easier to fly to cities like Chicago, Nashville, LA, Cleveland etc.

Sounds like FA is the biggest issue. Unfortunately there isn’t too much public information (in the CDS for example) about FA for transfer students. I’d expect most schools to prioritize incoming first year students for FA. So in your case it might make sense to use a bimodal strategy, one emphasizing affordable safeties (like CSUs maybe), reaches (Ivies and other rich private schools with generous aid), and few/no targets. After Cornell, UPenn might be the Ivy with the best transfer chances (but double-check the CDS numbers). Northeastern, Case Western and Rochester are fine but they don’t claim to meet full demonstrated need even for incoming first year students (although maybe I’m missing something about CC transfers.)

It sounds like you are in Southern California. Perhaps look at Occidental or Chapman? They may both offer you aid as well.

@intparent CMC sounds like it would be more in line with my goals. Only problem is that it has a 2% acceptance rate for transfers… I guess I’ll apply, and see what happens.

@Coloradomama Thanks for the suggestion! If Case Western gives good FA, I’ll definitely add them to my list. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. I know Vanderbilt is crazy hard to get into, so they’re more of a reach for me anyways. Hopefully Case Western would be a good match school!

@tk21769 I’ve heard that transfers are usually secondary when it comes to FA, which is why I’m wary of private colleges that don’t meet 100% need. This rules out all but the very best colleges, which is why I’m worried that my school list is comprised of nothing but reaches.

I think a bimodal approach would be a great idea. I already applied to a bunch of UCs this year, and got into all of them (including Cal and UCLA), so I think I’ll be able to use them as my safeties when I reapply next year.
I’ve heard Brown is pretty welcoming of transfers (something like a 10% acceptance rate), so I’ll add them and UPenn to my list.

@tk21769 Are there any other colleges that you would recommend that I stand a decent shot at, that aren’t super-reaches like UPenn and Brown?

As long as you are okay in a politically conservative environment, by all means keep CMC on your list. Pitzer can certainly prepare you for med schools as well.

Agree that Case is a good match.

@kanfly Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve looked into Occidental and Chapman, but they unfortunately don’t give that much aid to transfers.

@intparent Will do! Thanks again for your input.