I do research at highly ranked university that I live near, and I am afraid that if I mention it in my essays for other schools, those schools will think I am probably more interested in the school I do research at than the school I am writing the essay about.
For example, if I was writing an essay for XYZ college, I would write something like:
“I like chemistry. I do research at [name of place I do research] on [topic of my research], which has increased my interest in chemistry. I am interested in the research at XYZ college by [professor] on the same topic. At XYZ college, I want to learn about that professor’s work and do research with him”
What you plan to write is fine. You don’t need to overthink this. Plenty of kids do research at top universities that aren’t their first choice. Colleges know this.
Shouldn’t this be addressed in your activities section? That’s the proper place to mention it. I do not think you should write in your essay where you do research. It sounds like name dropping, and in your essay, who cares? Doesn’t sound like an interesting essay, IMO.
LIke Linda says – be sure you don’t stray too far from what the essay prompt is really asking. However, if you choose to include mention of this, you can easily condense it as follows “My interest in pursuing XX at your university was prompted by my earlier research in the field at ABC College.”
Since you’ll have already listed the research on your Activities list, they can simply refer to that.