benzo

Same question about the multiple writing samples. If I only have co-authored samples, should I submit two manuscripts to indicate ability to write? Or just the one, even if it's co-authored? I will have a statement from co-author(s) attached to the sample(s) indicating my contribution to the manuscript. Also, are people submitting abstracts with their writing samples? Or not necessary?

I have a question about how graduate admissions committees work. I have a good relationship with a professor at one of my top choice schools. We have met a couple times to discuss our ongoing research and correspond periodically. He encouraged me to apply to his university. I am hoping that he will be on the graduate admissions committee, as he seems like someone who might possibly "go to bat" for me if my application were under discussion. However, he was the chair of the admissions committee last year. Does this mean that he likely will not be on the committee this year? Unclear how this works. It would be a bummer if he were not on the committee.

I have a question specific to the NYU application. On the online application, there is special section regarding research experience, described below: "Do you have any research experience? [Check yes/no] If yes, please upload a description of the work [title, where the work was done, name of supervisor, date and title of any publication, patents, etc.] to one of the Additional Information pages." Following these instructions, I fashioned a sheet listing the project titles, a one sentence description, names and contacts of PIs and supervisors, the dates of my involvement and my roles in the research, and a list of any products and their status (e.g., publications, presentations, etc.) for every research project I have ever worked on. I have a few years of full-time and part-time nonprofit and government policy research experience, so it is a kind of long document (~4 pages), but also really lays out the trajectory of my research leading up to these applications. My question is: Would this be something I should submit as an optional supplement to my application for all schools, or only to submit to NYU? Would adcomms find this annoying or useful? It isn't really redundant to the CV since publication titles don't explain necessarily what the project was, and projects for which the product was a government report wouldn't be listed on CV.

Hi, I'm applying for Fall 2016 sociology PhD programs. My top schools would be NYU, Yale, Columbia, or Berkeley. I recently took the GRE and am not sure how to interpret them. My background is in public health where GRE cutoffs and averages are much more transparent. Verbal: 165 Quant: 158 The verbal seems to me to be very good, but I'm unsure about a quant score below 160 and am considering studying for another month and retaking in mid-October. All other factors notwithstanding, how do these scores stand for top sociology PhD? Should I retake? Thanks in advance for any input.