Providence College Supplemental essay: Finding the ultimate truth

Providence College students have always engaged in lively intellectual debates through disputatio - the art of disputed questions. At Providence, there is often not one correct answer, but rather many answers that come together to form one truth. In a divided society filled with strong opinions, how do you work to ensure all viewpoints are considered and the ultimate truth is discovered? (250-500 words)

Finding the ultimate truth

When I was little, my mom told me about her encounters as a news reporter with all kinds of people, from activists to war veterans, from poachers to millionaires. "Everyone thinks they're on the good side. They don't try to understand each other.", she would say. "My job is to make people listen. Want to help me with that?". So I did.

By the time I learned the word "mediator", I had already been one. Resolving conflicts is a constantly-reshaping challenge in my rowdy public schools, casual household, and military neighborhood. To help two friends make up, I have to find out why the first punch was thrown. To prevent my dad from assaulting my older sister's boyfriend every saturday night, I proposed negotiating conditions. I sat through my neighbors' rants to settle their quarrels. Everyone has their reasons. I balance them and find out what works best. Open-mindedness, patience, and flexibility never failed me.

Only by listening to all sides are we truly listening. Expressing our thoughts, as well as taking in others', purely for the sake of advancement demands effort. Dominicans make that effort to prevent emotion from suppressing logic, to prevent prejudices from hindering innovation, and to let knowledge complement knowledge. Providence's ideals on the pursuit of truth resonate with my belief. However strange or unacceptable an opinion may seem, I always try to find the facts so they can complete each other and lead to the truth. Along with mediating, I encourage others to create a comfortable and accepting environment that encourages free speech. I believe that peace promotes progress.

However, to me, there's no ultimate truth. The human knowledge is ever expanding and ever changing, like a puzzle with pieces that can be fit into many places and transforms with every different combination. What we have to do is find as many of those pieces as we can, so even if they become obsolete, we can look back and see how our perception of truth evolved, motivating ourselves to keep walking on that path. I commit myself to peacebuilding so conflicts become productive, and I commit myself to education so I can create well-adjusted puzzle pieces from others. To keep trying to solve the enigma of truth is a mission given us, human beings, and to me, a growing peacemaker.

@Holt I forgot that I couldn't post another essay in that thread. I asked if asking for suggestions was even okay but then straight posted the essay. Sorry.

Don't worry about it. I knew you just forgot and needed a reminder. I guess you are way too excited about this application. I won't let you risk losing out on help just because of a technicality, which is why I made sure that I directed you towards the helpful path. Now we can seriously get to work on improving this essay. Here we go.

I am impressed by the way that you effectively combined the old essay we developed with this new train of thought. It really gave the essay an original feel. Your understanding of the Dominican values and belief is acceptable. However, I would not contradict the college when it comes to the "ultimate truth" belief. Even if you do not agree with the principle, the fact remains that your opinion regarding the term is not being asked for. So why are you discussing it? Don't deviate from the prompt requirements. Offer only the needed or required discussion points in order to come across as a student who knows how to follow instructions. Don't try to engage the reviewer in a debate. He can't answer you back.

So remove the offending paragraph and close the essay using the paragraph before that. It is not necessary to create a new closing statement unless you actually want to do that. Do that, only if you have something better to say regarding the belief in the "ultimate truth". Otherwise, don't bother.

Thanks! You said that my understanding was "acceptable" so I guess it wasn't very impressive. Can you explain more on the Dominican beliefs so I can write this essay better?

Also, is closing the essay with the third paragraph strong enough? I thought I needed to link it back to me directly so it can have more "meat" or something.

Yes, you need to link it back to you in order to create a strong ending. However, linking it back to you in a manner that runs contradictory to the prompt isn't going to help your application essay. The reviewer will simply shrug off your belief and think that you are not really Dominican material because you are not inclined to believe in an "ultimate truth" which is practically the whole basis of the essay you wrote. If you want to link it back to you, then link it back in a manner that conveys the idea that you support the belief in the "ultimate truth" . This is a religious school so saying you don't believe in the same thing as they do will create a pocket of doubt as to your ability to assimilate into the Dominican system of education.

Keep in mind that Providence College is a Roman Catholic college so if you do not have a Catholic upbringing, it might be a bit difficult for you to show a familiarity with the motto of "Truth". In order to better explain your belief in truth, look to the official seal of the college. The Holy Trinity (God the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is shown along with the flame of learning and the word "Veritas" over it. If I were to discuss the "ultimate truth" I would explain my belief in it as being a perfect balance of a belief in God and the factual evidence of academic learning. Put together in a manner that compliments each other, you gain a different kind of knowledge. You gain the ultimate truth that academic learning, without heart (as represented by the trinity) means the truth that one knows of is incomplete. That is my interpretation of the ultimate truth so you can modify it to suit your own beliefs.