<p>If I do the common app essay, does it mean I don't have to do the one provided by the college?</p>
<p>You have to do the essays required in any supplement to the common app. You don't have to do the ones on the individual application that is superseded by the common app.</p>
<p>I'd have to say that it really depends on the college. Some colleges accept the common app and some use their own applications. If the college doesn't use the common app, then it will have its own set of essay topics. However, on the common application, one of the essay choices is "topic of your choice", so you could use the same essay on the common app and another application.
Also, I find that a lot of the essay questions center around the same topics, so you can adapt a single essay to fit different colleges' essay prompt. I'm writing the same essay for three colleges.
Hope this helps!</p>