Publications?

[HinnehMahTov]

A last-minute opportunity to co-write an article with one of my professors has come up. I'm applying this fall for doctoral work in HB/OT, and the article would be finished in time to put it on my C.V. However, I'm also doing a fair amount of coursework this summer (eight hours) in addition to studying for the GRE and taking care of my kids part-time. I'm concerned that making time to work on the article wouldn't be worth the cost if admissions committees aren't too impressed by that sort of thing. Does anybody have an idea as to how much weight a co-authored paper would look on an application?

[11Q13]

I would think that co-writing the paper would be more important for the letter of reference you could get from the professor with whom you're writing the article than having a publication on your CV; something to consider. If you have a thing or two in a combined "presentations and publications" part of your CV already, the article probably wouldn't make that much of a difference, if any.

[Yetanotherdegree]

I'm in a similar situation to you (I'm working on a doctoral app for the fall, GRE prep, kids part-time, working to get my Latin up to speed before fall courses start, and some actual, for-pay, work.) I don't feel like I have a ton of extra time to toss at stuff that isn't worthwhile and I'm careful about which commitments I accept. That being said, I would prioritize an opportunity to get credit for a publication. I think actual publications can help to make an application stand out, and I think the potential for a stellar reference is also helpful. I would do the article.