SOCphd15

I have no idea. You can check the results search and construct your own explanation: you are a sociologist! 

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'll start with this one. There is no such thing as a safety school. A school is either a good fit or not. A poorly ranked school doing research in everything you're not interested in, will reject you. Before you apply make sure the program is a good fit.


What about everyone else. What do you wish you'd known at the beginning?

If you have friends/colleagues whose writing you enjoy, don't be afraid to ask for friendly peer editing. 

Just looking at the department websites won't give you enough info because a department "overall" is not the same thing as its faculty individually (and most departments will not outright say they are heavier in one methodology).  
 
Above all, make sure you look at whether the specific faculty you are interested in working with use quantitative or qualitative methods.  Reading a few of their (or even their students') recent articles can quickly shed light on their approach.  Of course, it's not completely impossible to do quantitative methods and have a qualitative advisor (I wouldn't want to do it, lol), but you will probably be a better fit if your advisor works with the same methodology.  Also, maybe take a look at the methods requirements for the department and its course offerings if you can access them.

All of those schools have folks who specialize in the quantitative analysis of religion.

I know this from working and reading in that field.