The correct statement that describes the translation of the function \( f(x) = x^2 \) to \( f(x) = x^2 - 3 \) is:
The parent function shifted vertically down 3 units and did not change in any other way.
This is because the transformation from \( x^2 \) to \( x^2 - 3 \) means that the whole graph of the parabola is moved down 3 units on the y-axis, without any horizontal shift or change in width.