From the philosophies to the people, CMC wouldn't get out of my head. I had fallen in love.
This part weakens it. You repeat "fallen in love" a second time, and... from the phiosophies to the people is superficial.
Replace that with some mention of
a real experience you remember, perhaps something that occurred in your mind, perhaps something that occurred one morning and made you think of your future in a new way. Something vivid and real.I went on a college trip with my friend. A casual trip, tagging along with friend, may prove to have changed my whole life. My friend's mom wanted her to check out Pomona, so I went with her.
Pomona's tour times didn't work with our schedule, so we just tagged along on the Mckenna one. She was so bored, but I slowly fell in love. (add a sentence like what I described in italics above) from the philosophies to the people. During the rest of the week, while seeing UC's and CSU's, CMC wouldn't get out of my head. I had fallen in love.
Here is a very powerfully articulated way of expressing your point:
I want to
get across express the fact that the biggest influence on my decision to apply was this: After seeing Mckenna -- after being there -- it wouldn't get out of my head, even after seeing other colleges.