For the essays, there isn't a whole lot I can tell you. I wrote about what was important to me... and that will surely differ for you. That's why they're personal statements. Think about what is important to you and what you think is important for them and stress those points.
I can only compare my interview at SCCO to the other ones I had (SUNY & NECO), and IMO, it was more intimidating than both of those combined. It was probably just my interviewer, but it certainly felt like every answer I gave wasn't adequate. I walked out of it being 95% confident that I didn't get in... and this was after I had already gone through the other 2 interviews, so it wasn't just nerves.