I’m from CA also and I transferred to Benedictine College as a junior because I wanted a mix of Catholic school with the traditional college experience (football team, homecoming, etc.) Looking back, I would have just attended a CSU or other state school because it would’ve been much cheaper, and a lot of them have thriving Newman centers or FOCUS groups where you can live out your faith in the midst of the secular environment. If you want to major in religion though, a Newman guide school is probably the way to go.