Hi! This all sounds great. Would love to know if this changed your outcome (have you been accepted? waitlisted?)
I was rejected last year and reapplying this year. changed my personal statement almost completely, and also gained further related experience for my resume. I used a lot of counselling-related terms in my statement, too. Got rejected from McMaster (a second time) and still no word from other schools.
Sometimes it feels like its more about luck than the actual strength of your application…