Message from University of Washington:
"We have not released or completed all our decisions, and yes, we do this in phases here for a variety of reasons."
I've only seen one program require that you come early (Nebraska). If you did not take undergraduate statistics or if your grade was below what they wanted, they require you to come early to take a course before starting their program.
University of Houston. I did not pay a dime and Houston is affordable. Great, well known faculty and they're bringing in younger, up-and-coming people. They are always looking to improve the program and the student to faculty ration is small. They also have strong ties to Houston for research or if you're interested in applied sociology, it's a great place to be.
I agree with Roll Right. Engage your peers and mentors on their writing styles to learn how they approach writing. You can always integrate, change, or disregard someone else's approach, but it's helpful to figure out what best works for you.
Yes, that's a great writing sample. I would also include a bit of your literature review to also indicate engagement with previous literature on your topic. Include a cover page indicating information about your thesis and you might mention it in your statement of purpose.
Preach... everyone has a different opinion or something contradictory to say about the process. You just have to put your work out there and hope for the best. Quite the suck-tastic situation, but it is what it is: luck and chance.
If they don't say outright, there are often context clues; many use percentages or some have pictures of cohorts that may be referenced. Otherwise, it depends on year, funding, etc.
Fit can refer not only to your interests as an academic, but personalities within the department, too. If an adcomm doesn't think you will get along with your peers, this may factor into their decision.
To add to this, some schools are more teaching rather than research oriented anyway, Kansas is the first to come to kind. Once you've received an MA, you can teach at least a community college or lower.
This article is helpful:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/sociology-jobs-stay-stable-with-a-caveat/83863
There was a discussion about this over the summer at ASA. To recap: there are job openings, but not necessarily in the areas people are interested in. The two fields that are posted the most are positions in health and criminology. However, people applying for these positions may be interested in a variety of topics and still get the jobs. If no one applies for these spots, more often than not they will hire the best candidate regardless of areas of specialization.