Is a bibliography counted in the page/word count for the writing sample?

[MiaB]

Hello, 

I had a couple of general questions about the writing sample requirements for PhD programs for philosophy. I know that the requirements can vary due to program, but in general I wanted to know if I should count the bibliography in the word count or page count of my writing sample. I was also wondering if a cover page and abstract are typically needed for writing samples, and if those also should be considered. 

I will most likely contact each of my schools about this in the near future, but I wanted to get an idea of what people had done in the past! Thank you for the information. 

[Valorship98]

I have heard that pages for bibliography (and images, in the case of my field art history) generally do not count; I would encourage you to include them.

[MiaB]

Thank you!