The correct statement that best describes the translation is:
The parent function shifted vertically down 3 units and did not change in any other way.
This is because the function \( f(x) = x^2 - 3 \) represents a vertical translation of the parent function \( f(x) = x^2 \) downwards by 3 units. There is no horizontal shift or change in the width of the parabola in this transformation.