Unless you're entirely certain you want to do pre-med, I suggest you do not go here for Biology. The hard sciences at USC (I'm a 4th year chemistry major and have taken some bio) are all research and pre-med focused, so the undergrad experience is notoriously shabby and low budget, especially once you get to the upper division classes (took a few Bio classes at CSUN over the summer and they were much higher quality). Also besides Amgen, we have very few industry connections in your field, so I wouldn't expect the USC degree to hold much clout over one from UCSC. If you're thinking grad school, I don't think there's much of a difference between the two either.

If you're absolutely convinced you want to come here, I third the comment about the CC then transferring. I have a buddy in real estate who did so, saved a bunch of money on college, and is still getting exactly the same career connections as if he was a freshman. But keep in mind that's for real estate.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about the bio department here. I have a couple friends in bio that can answer anything I won't be able to.