UCD or SMC to UC

I am a graduating high school senior this year and have a couple different options when it comes to my life after high school. I applied to a number of colleges in SoCal and was not accepted to any of my school choices such as SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, UCSD and UCSB. Being from far northern California, my main desire would be to go to southern California for location and other personal reasons.
My decision basically comes down to my acceptance to UC Davis and whether or not it is worth it to go there or attend a CCC such as Santa Monica College which is one of the best transfer schools in CA, according to it’s page. My applied major for Davis is Applied Physics.
I may want to change my pathway but I believe this is a good direction for my career goals. Even though I may end up spending the same amount of money on my education, would it be worth it to attend SMC and join it’s scholars program and TAG program in order to transfer to a higher tier UC such as LA?
And if anyone has any success stories with using the scholars program or TAG and TAP programs it would be much appreciated. I have been very stressed with the pressure my family has put on me to accept the Davis offer but I don’t know if that is the path I want to go. Thanks in advance!

TAG is only available for UCM,UCR,UCI,UCSC,UCD or UCSB. TAGing will give the same opportunities as you currently have at UCD other than UCSB. UCLA and UCB have TAP instead. Since you are from Northern California, you would need housing in the area for SMC and as you stated costs may end up the same. Go to UCD and get your Undergrad degree and do graduate at school at UCLA instead. If Physics is your goal, then an advanced degree will most likely be needed.

UCLA TAP: http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_tr/ADM_CCO/tap.htm

I think you are placing WAY too much emphasis on your perceived ranking of these schools. Davis grads do fine in the job market. I think paying for room and board at a CC is a silly waste of money as, it won’t really give you the freshman experience. You also run the risk of not getting into UCLA (transfer is about as competitive as it is for freshmen) or, even back into Davis.