How long are you suppose to spend on the common app essay?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

I am reading all of these posts with people saying that they spent hours and hours for several months writing their essay. I actually got lazy and just used my memoir assignment that I did for my AP Comp class. I feel like mine is really, really bad then even though I got an A on the paper since I spent only like 6 hours on it. Is it normal to be able to complete the common app essay in just 6 hours? I don’t how can you spend several months writing a 650 word essay that requires no research or citations? I keep on rereading my essay and I don’t know how to make it better. I get this feeling that I missed something considering others had to spend several months?

Btw, I decided on this prompt “Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.” I thought my memoir would fit pretty well since it was about a single event that changed my life, it also happened outside of the US so it was within my culture and community.

2

Don’t second guess yourself. Best selling books have been written in a weekend. People on this site seem to overvalue the essay. Schools have no way of knowing who wrote the essay-the big sister, parent, cousin or applicant. It sometimes conveys important information about the candidate that isn’t conveyed in other ways (say a background of poverty of information about frequent moves in childhood) but that is about it. No wow factor due to alliteration or fancy prose will change an outcome. In other words, no worries.

3

Also, if anyone is willing to read my essay I will pm you it. I feel like my laziness is probably taking over and since I am biased, I don’t really know if my memoir really fits well with the common app essay. Heck, it might even work for the other common app essays too. I am biased after all lol.

4

I spent maybe 2 hours hand writing and brainstorming and 2 typing and revising. If you write it in 30 minutes and you’re happy then it works, if you write it in 6 hrs and you’re happy then that’s great too.