Design Specification Final
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Transcript of Design Specification Final
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DesignSpecificationInfo360Fall2012
SeanPayne,CourtneyDutton,LawrenceTjok
2012
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TheDesignProblem
ProblemThekeytosurvivingcollegeisultimatelytofindamajorandgraduateontime.The
studentswhoareaffectedbythistimesensitivedecisionarefreshman,sophomores,
transferstudentsandstudentsunsureabouttheircurrentmajor.Findingamajor
hasbecomeaharderproblemforthestudentstoconquerthesedaysduetothe
sheerquantityofmajorsoutthere.TheUniversityofWashingtonhas165majors
("UniversityofWashington,OfficeofAdmissions").Soforstudentswhoreallydo
nothavemuchofanideaofwhattheywouldliketopursue,choosingamajorcanbe
averydauntingtask.Researchhasshownthatupto80percentofenteringcollege
studentsadmitthattheyarenotcertainwhattheywanttomajorin,evenifthey
havedeclaredamajor.Beforegraduationover50percentofcollegestudents
changetheirmajoratleastonce("CCO-UnsureAboutYourMajor?").Ourgoal
hereistohelpstudentshaveconfidenceinchoosingtheirmajororchangetoa
majorthattheyareconfidenttheyareinterestedinandwillbesuccessfulin.
CausesWhydosomestudentshaveahardtimetofindtheirmajors?TheAmberTemple
Universityshowsthatcommonreasonsofwhystudentsarehavingahardtimetofindtheirmajorsare("AcademicServices"):
Lackofknowledge(notknowingwhatmajorsorcareersareoutthere) Uncertaintyofowninterests,skillsandabilities,orfearofcertaintypesofacademicwork(math,speech,writing,research)
Mistakenbeliefthatchoiceofmajortotallydeterminescareer Havetoomanyoptions,toomanyinterests. Feelpressuretomeetparents/friendsexpectationsDonotseeamajorthatfitspersonalinterestarea
FearoffailureBasedonourinsightsfromourinterviews,wefoundthatthemainreasonswhy
studentshaveahardtimechoosingamajorisbecausestudentsarenotsurehow
theirintereststranslateintoamajorarea.
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ConsequenceTheresultsofchoosingawrongmajorcanbeserious.Butcollegeofficialsalso
recognizethatdecidingonamajorcanbeoverwhelming,especiallywhencoupled
withthefearthatawrongchoicewillresultinaddedsemestersandtuition.
("EducationLife")Studentsnolongerhavetheluxuryofstumblingintomajoror
makingmistakes,saysNeetaP.Fogg,aresearchprofessoratDrexelUniversitys
CenterforLaborMarkets("EducationLife").Notonlythatitmaycostextratuition
andprolongthestudentsgraduation,itcanalsoleadtopursuingacareerthatdoes
notfittheirinterests.Sincehavingtogobacktoschoolcostslotofmoneyandtime,
thestudentcaneasilystuckwithanunfulfillingcareerforlife.Choosingthewrong
majorcanmakeyoutwiceaslikelytoendupunemployed.Researchersfoundthat
thehighestratesbelongtorecentgraduatesinarchitecture(13.9percent),thearts
(11.1percent),andthesocialsciences(8.9percent).Theundergraduatedegrees
withthelowestratesofunemploymentarehealth(5.4percent),education(5.4
percent),andagricultureandnaturalresources(7percent).SolutionThegoalofthisdesignwillbetohelpthestudents,whoarehavingtroublewith
findingtheirmajor,tofindtheirinterestsinamajorandprovideavastvarietyofinformationonmajorsforthestudentstoexplore.Afterexploringvariousoptions,
wehavedecidedthatthebestwayandmostefficientwaytohelpthesestudents
withfindingtheirmajorwillbecreatingawebsitethatusesthetechniquebehind
theStumbleUponwebsite.Studentswillhavetheoptionofviewingvideosand
articlesrelatedtomajorsattheUniversityofWashington.Thestudentwillratethe
videosandarticles,andaccordingtotheirrating,wewillnarrowdownthemajors
thatinterestthestudent.
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Scope
GeneralOverview
Thewebsitewillactasasimpleandintuitivetooltohelpstudentsfindmajors
relatedtotheirinterestsbasedontheoptiontoselectacademicinterestsandrate
thearticlesandvideosthattheyview.Thesitewillnotincludesocialnetworkingin
anyshapeorform.Thewebsitewillalsonotfunctionfornon-UWstudents.Thistool
ismeanttosyncwithotherUWwebsitesandreportssuchastheDegreeAudit
Status.
Theprocessofselectingvideosandarticlestobepresentedtothestudentwill
mimictheprocessbehindthewebsiteStumbleUpon.TheStumbleUponwebsite
usesintereststhatareselectedbytheuserandbyclickingonthestumblebuttona
randomwebsitethatfallswithintheusersinterestsispresented.Thestudentswill
beabletoratethevideosandarticles,whichwillhelpdeterminewhichmajorsare
matchesforthestudentbasedonwhatintereststhem.Asastudentratesvideosand
articlesaprogressbarwillletthestudentseehowmanyvideosandarticlesthey
needtorateinordertogetthebestresultsforthemajorsbeingmatchedtothe
student.Astudentwillbeabletogobackandedittheratingsthattheypreviously
didandsavethem.Thearticlesandvideoswillhelpstudentsdiscoverwhatcurrent
professionalswiththisdegreearedoing.Studentscanchooseintereststofilteroutcertainareastocreateanarroweddownstartingpointforviewingvideosand
articles.ThereisalsoaBrowseMajorssectionforthosewhodonotwantto
narrowresults,butinsteadviewalltheiroptions.TheMyMajorspagewilldisplay
theirmatchesformajorsandprovidegeneraloverviewofeach,courseevaluations
providedbyUWEvals,theprerequisitesyouvecompleted(ifany),andcareersand
averagesalaries.
Ourdesignwillnotprovide4-yearplansorapplicationstoapplyforthesemajors.
Therewillnotbeanyinformationonapplyingtomajors.Thestudentwillnotbe
abletocomparemajorswiththistool.Thisisonlyawebbasedtool.
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TheTargetAudience
Ourintendedaudienceisstudentswhoneedhelpfindingamajororstudentswho
areconsideringswitchingmajors.Inorderforstudentstobeabletorevisittheir
resultsandcomebacktoratemorearticlesandvideoswewillusetheirUWNetID
astheirlogincredentialsforthistool.ByrequiringthestudentstologinwithaUWNetIDthistoolwillnotbeavailabletoanyonewithoutaUWNetID.Itispossiblethat
thistoolcouldbeimplementedatotheruniversitiesandrequiringaschoolrequired
studentlogin.
Diagram1showstheaudiencespectrumofourdesign.Insidethepurpleboxareour
intendedaudiencesandoutsideinthegreyboxisthemostrelevantunintended
audiencethatcouldhavebenefitedfromourdesignbutwhowillnothaveaccessto
it.
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UserAssumptionsandRequirements
ProsandConsRelatedtoourScope
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Personas
SophiaLaw(Freshman)SophiacomesfromapoorfamilyinOregon.She
hasbeenahardworkingchildeversinceshe
wasyoung.Shedoesnothavetimetohangout
withherhighschoolfriendsbecauseofher
work.Withherefforts,Sophiahasbecomea
straightAstudentathersmalltownhighschool.
Althoughshehasexcelledacademically,shehas
neverbeentoaclassroomwithmorethan20
studentsbecauseofhersmallschool.Aftergraduation,sheisattendingtheUniversityof
Washingtontopursuefurthereducation.Sophia
isverytalentedinscience,math,musicandart.
Sophiagottwoyearsofcollegepaidforbyascholarshipandwillpaythelasttwo
yearsofwithaloanfromfinancialaid.Duetoherfamily'sfinancialsituation,Sophia
willneedtoconsidermajorsthatcanguaranteeastablejobopportunityafter
graduationwhenshechoosesamajor.Awayfromherfamilyandfriends,Sophiais
havingahardtimeadaptingthenewenvironment.Sheishavingdifficultymaking
friendsinabiglecturehall.Sheishavinganevenhardertimetotryingtodeterminehermajorbecauseshecomesfromasmalltownandshedoesnotknowwhatmajors
areavailable.Shedoesnotknowwhat
shewantstobeinthefuture,butshe
knowsthatsheneedstodeclareher
majorassoonaspossibletograduateon
time.
KevinThompson(Transfer
Student)KevincomesfromarichfamilyinTaiwan.
HecametotheUnitedStatesafter
graduatinghighschoolandattended
ShorelineCommunityCollegefor2years
toobtainanassociatesdegree.Upon
completinghisassociatesdegree,he
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transferredtotheUniversityofWashington.Kevinisareallytalentedperson,but
alsoalazyperson.Hishobbyisplayingvideogames,partyingwithfriendsand
playingmusic.HelearnedtobecomeaDJlastyear,andhehasformedabandwith
hisfriendsatShorelineCommunityCollegeandplayatvariouseventsoccasionally.
Despitebeingverysocialperson,hisparentswanthimtobecomeabusinessmanwhenhegraduatesbecausehisparentsownabusinessandtheywanthimtotake
over.Giventhecostofinternationaltuition,Kevinsparentshavehighexpectations
fromhim.Giventhathejusttransferred,heisunderthepressuretodeclareamajor
assoonaspossibleifhewantstograduatein4years.Althoughthatheknowshis
interestsarepartying,gaming,andmusic,hedoesnotknowwhatmajorsare
availableaswellascareeropportunityforhisinterests.Healsoknowsthathis
parentswouldnotbehappyifhedoesnotmajorinbusiness.AntonioIglesias(Sophomorechangingmajor)
Antoniosfamilyownsacar
shop;hisdadwasamechanical
engineerandtheownerofthe
shop.However,duetoacar
accidentlastyear,hisdadhas
passedaway.Antoniosmom
wasveryupsetandhashoped
thatonedayAntoniocan
continuerunninghisdads
storebymajoringinmechanicalengineer.Asa
sophomoreincollege,Antoniowasinfluencedbytheincidentanddeclared
mechanicalengineerashismajor.Afterstayingoneyearinmechanicalengineer,he
realizedthatmechanicalistoohardforhim.Hestruggledthewholeyearanddoes
notwanttopursuesomethingthatisnotwhathewantstodo.
Now,AntonioisaseniorattheUniversityofWashington.Thisfallquarter,Antonio
tookINFO360andfoundhelikeddesignandthatthisiswherehisinterestslay.He
enjoyscreativethinkinganddesigningnewthingsforpeopletouse.Antoniohas
alreadyspentmostofhisfinancialaidmoneyandifhedecidedtodoublemajoror
changemajor,itwilltakehimextramoneytopayfortuitionandhisfamilycannot
affordit.
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DesignSpecificationBelowisaflowdiagramofourwebsite.
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Homepage
*Pleaseignoreanyshadowing(ex.Loginbutton)inourphotos;itwastheresultofa
pdfconversioninLucidChart.Thankyou
BannerDesignChoice:Thewebsitehasabanneracrossthetopdisplayingourlogo
inthetopleftcornerandaloginandhelplinkinthetopright.
Rationale:Thisfollowstheconventionsofwebsites,whichwillmakethe
experiencemoreintuitivefortheuser.
DesignChoice:Towardsthetopleftofthepage,locatedunderthelogo,thereisamenubarwithlinkstotheHomepage,BrowseMajorspage,andMy
MajorsPage.
Rationale:Thisalsofollowsconventionsoftypicalwebsites,allowingtheusertonavigatequickly,whichstreamlinestheuserworkflow.
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MenuLinks
DesignChoice:TheHomelinkwillbehighlightedingoldwhenauserison
theHomepage.
Rationale:Again,followingwebsiteconventions,thiswillkeeptheuser
awareoftheircurrentlocation,whichwillpreventconfusion.
DesignChoice:TheusercanclickBrowseMajorsatanytimeandviewthemajorlist.Theycandothiswithoutloggingin.
Rationale:Thisfeaturedoesntneedtosaveanydetailsfortheuser,so
logginginwouldntbenefittheuserinanyway.
DesignChoice:IfauserclicksonMyMajorswithoutloggingin,thepage
willloadwithanexplanationstatingSorry,youhaventratedanycontent,sowecantgiveyousuggestions!Considerloggingin.Thewordslogginginwill
bealinktothelog-onpage.Ifauserisloggedin,buthasntratedanycontent,
thispagewilldisplaythesamemessagewithouttheConsiderloggingin
part.Rationale:Ifauserisntloggedin,wewontbeabletoopentheir
suggestions,sowewillencouragethemtolog-insincetheyverequestedthis
information.Iftheuserhasntratedanycontent,weneedthemtodoso
beforeweprovideanysuggestions.
DescriptionDesignChoice:Wewillhaveadescription
explainingwhatourtooldoesandhowitisused.
Thiswillbelocateddirectlybelowthemenu.
Rationale:Thiswillallowuserstofamiliarize
themselveswiththetoolbrieflybeforeusingit.
Thelocationiswherewebsitesgenerallyhave
theirmaincontent.
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DesignChoice:Therewillbealoginbuttonbelowthedescriptionpageas
shownabove.ThisbuttonallowsthemtologinwithaUWNetID.
Rationale:Thisislocateddirectlybelowthedescriptionofthesite,naturally
guidingtheusertostartusingthetool.Originally,usersneededtocreateaprofile,butwechosetofocusonUWstudents,enablingustointegrate
functionalitywithotherUWservices,suchastheDARSreports.Thisiswhy
usingtheNetIDisideal.
DesignChoice:WeremovedalargeInfographicthatusedtobelocatednext
tothedescription.
Rationale:ThisInfographicwasintendedtoestablishrapportwiththeuser,
however,thisisntnecessarybecauseourtoolwillbemarketedthroughUWwhichhasalreadyestablishedagoodrapport.Wewanteduserstoclickthe
loginlink,butthisgraphicwasdistractingandwedecideditwouldbebettertoremoveit.
LoginPage
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DesignChoice:WeplacedtheUWNetIDsystemwithinthewebpage,instead
ofmigratingtoanewpage.
Rationale:Duringtheusertesting,oneofouruserspointedoutthathewas
alwaysconfusedatwhytheUWLoginpageredirectsyoutoanexternalpage.ThiswillalsoallowuserstoclickBrowseMajorsifthatwasthe
functionalitytheyactuallywanted.
DesignChoice:WecopiedoverallofthelinksassociatedwiththeUWloginsystem.
Rationale:Theselinksarestillapplicabletoourtool.Forexample,ifauser
forgottheirpassword,wewouldntwantthemtoleaveoursiteinorderto
findanotherUWloginservice.
FilterPage
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DesignChoice:Weallowstudentstofiltercontent.
Rationale:Originally,wethoughtthatuserswouldbeinclinedtoruleouta
majortheyarepotentiallyinterestedin.Duringouruserstudy,wegotfeedbackindicatingthatthisisadesirablefeature.Werealizedthatusers
wouldlikelyhavesubjectmattertheyreallydontenjoyanddecidedto
implementthisfunctionality.
DesignChoice:Usingthisparticularlistofmajors.
Rationale:WefoundthislistonCollegeboard.com(seeworkscited),which
isanaccreditedwebsite.Itcoversbroadcategories,meaninguserswillspend
lesstimecheckinginboxes.Italsopreventsusersfromrulingoutspecificmajorsbasedonstereotypes.
DesignChoice:TheSubmitandBeginbuttonislocatedbelowthefilters
list.
Rationale:Thisfollowstheconventionsoftherestofourwebsite.Also,since
usersarereadingdownalistofitems,theireyeswillnaturallymovetowards
thebottomofthesite.
DesignChoice:Bydefault,theseboxesareallchecked.
Rationale:Thismeansthatuserswillliterallybenarrowingdownresults
insteadofexpandingthem.Thisalsomeansthatifsomeonegoesthroughwithoutreadingthepagethattheywewillhaveanideaofwhatcontentto
display.
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RatingsPage
DesignChoice:WechosetouseaThumbsUp/ThumbsDownratingsystem
asopposedtoadifferentsystem.
Rationale:Initially,weuseda5-starratingsystem.Oneofourusersduring
testingmentionedthathewouldprefertheThumbssystem.Weputapollup
onFacebookandweresurprisedtofindthevastmajorityofrespondents
wantedtouseaThumbssystem,sowedecidedtoimplementthis
functionality.
DesignChoice:Wechosetodisplaywhichmajorthecontentisrelatedto
directlyabovethecontent.
Rationale:Wewantedtokeeppeoplefromratingbasedonmajorstereotypes,butmultipleusersduringtestedsaidthiswouldbenicesothey
couldunderstandhowtheirratingswerebeingused.Wefiguredthis
wouldntdisruptourfunctionality,soweaddedit.
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DesignChoice:Wehaveaprogressmeteratthebottom.
Rationale:Ourfirstprototypedidnttellusershowmuchcontenttheyrated
untiltheyclickedsubmit,somanyofthemwereconfusedatwhentheycouldstop.Weaddedthistoinformthemwhentheyhavereachedthebest
stoppingpoint.
DesignChoice:Wehaventspecifiedthenumberofarticlesandvideosausershouldratebeforegettingthebestresults.
Rationale:Withourlimitedtime,itwouldbedifficulttodeterminethe
optimalnumberofratingsausershouldmakebeforewecouldgivethem
adequateresults.Thiswouldrequireafunctioningsite,afullcollectionofarticlesandvideos,andacompletescaleonwhichmajorsarerelatedtothis
content.DesignChoice:Wehaveaqueuetoindicatetheupcomingarticlesand
videos.
Rationale:Thisismainlytofillwhitespace.Itissimplyavisualaide,butit
alsodoesntdistractfromthefunctionalityofthesite.
DesignChoice:WemovedtheSeeMyMajorsbuttontotherightaway
fromtheconventionalspot.
Rationale:Wewantuserstofocusonratingthevideosandarticles.Thisbuttonisnthardtolocate,butmovingitawayfromthegeneralcontent
discouragesauserfromclickingthistooearly.
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Warning
DesignChoice:WeaddedawarningpageifauserclickstheSeeMyMajorsbuttontooearly.
Rationale:Wewanteduserstohavetheabilitytoquitratingcontent
whenevertheyfeltcomfortable,butwantthemtoknowthattheirresultsare
moreaccuratewhenmorecontentisrated.
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MyMajors
DesignChoice:Atthetopoftheresults,wehaveaSee/EditRatingsButton.
Rationale:Duringourusertesting,acoupleoftheusersindicatedthatthey
wouldliketheabilitytogobackandchangetheirratingoncontent.We
decidedthatthiswouldbeusefulifauserdecidestorestartoraccidentally
likes/dislikessomething.
DesignChoice:Wechosetoonlydisplaythetopthreemajors.
Rationale:Wewantourtooltonarrowdowntheusersoptionsbasedon
theirinterest.Threemaynotbetheperfectnumber,butithelpsusfocuson
keepingtheusersoptionslimited.Weknowfrompersonalexperiencethat
applyingtomultiplemajorsisdifficultbecauseofalltheessaysandinformationyouhavetofillout.Itwouldalsobedifficultforuserstotakeall
theprerequisitesassociatedwithmanycourses.
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DesignChoice:Includeabrief
majordescription.
Rationale:Thisispretty
intuitive.Ifauserdoesntknowmuchaboutthemajorwedont
wantthemleavingthesiteto
lookupadefinition.
DesignChoice:IncludeprerequisitesandaDARSreport.
Rationale:Thishelpsausergetaquickvisualonwhatcoursestheywill
needtofinishtocompletethemajor.Weidentifiedthatsomeofourusers
willbefacingschoolorparentpressuretoapplyforamajor.Thiswillhelp
themdeterminewhetherornottheycancompletethemajorintime.
DesignChoice:IncludeCourseEvaluations
Rationale:Peoplearepronetolistentofriendsorothersthattheycanrelate
with.Thiswillallowthemtogetanideaofhowothersenjoythemajor.We
willutilizethecourseevaluationsfromtheUniversityofWashington,
meaningwedonthavetoacquireadditionaldataonthesecourses.Ourcurrentprototypeactuallylinkstouwevals.com,whichthecreator,Jace,
allowedustouse.
DesignChoice:Include
CareersandSalaries
Rationale:Someusersmay
beunclearonwhatpotential
jobstheycouldlookforand
whatkindofanincomethey
couldgenerate.Thispagewillgiveabriefdisplaytohelp
usersgetanidea,butitisnt
importanttogointodetail
becausetheyarelookingfora
major,notacareer.Thecareeradvisorsfrom
individualdepartmentswill
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choosethisinformation.
SeeRatingsPageThispagesimplyallowsuserstoseewhatratingtheygaveeacharticleandvideo.If
theyclickedit,itwillsendthemtotheeditratingspage.
DesignDecision:Organizethisinformationintwocolumns
Rationale:Thisfeltintuitivetosplitthecontentsinceitcouldbegrouped
intowhattheuserlikesanddoesntlike.
DesignDecision:Whenusersclickanarticleorvideoonthispage,theycan
lookatthecontentagain.Rationale:Thiswasafunctionalityrequestedduringourusertesting.
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EditRatingsPage
DesignDecision:Whenauserclicksononeofthethumbs,itwillremovethe
contentfromtheparticularcolumnandaddittotheotherside.
Rationale:Thisallowsuserstochangetheratingstheymade,unlessthey
madeamistake.Itgivesthemanicevisualcuetoindicatethatthisratinghas
beenchanged.
DesignDecision:Auserhastoclicksaveratingstokeepthechangestheyve
made.
Rationale:Usersmaydecidetheylikedtheirvideosandarticleswheretheywereoriginally.Thismakesitsotheycanabandonthepagewithoutmaking
changes.
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BrowseMajors DesignChoice:Replicate
theCourseCatalogfromUW.Wewillnothaveany
functionalitybeyond
readingthelist.
Rationale:Thiswill
simplyallowusersto
viewpotentialoptionsat
theUniversityofWashingtonandeliminate
theneedforusto
generateourownlist.Weconsiderthespecific
coursesoutsideofourprojectscope.
HelpPage
DesignChoice:Wedidntspecify
anythingforthehelp
documentation.
Rationale:Weknewthathavinga
helpfunctionalityisimportantforanywebsite,butgivenourlimitedtime,wedecidedwritinga
documentwasntinourbestinterest.
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WorkCited
"ChoosingaMajor."AcademicServices.AmblerTempleUniversity,n.d.Web.13Dec
2012..
"ChoosingaMajor."CCO-UnsureAboutYourMajor?.PurdueUniversity,n.d.Web.13
Dec2012..
"ChoosingOneCollegeMajorOutofHundreds."EducationLife .TheNewYorkTimes,
22012.Web.13Dec2012.
.
GILLEN,CLAIRE."CHOOSINGTHEWRONGMAJORCOULDCOSTYOU."TheCollege
Fix.TheCollegeFix,22012.Web.13Dec2012.
.
"QuickFacts|UniversityofWashington."UniversityofWashington,Officeof
Admissions.UniversityofWashington,n.d.Web.13Dec2012.
.
CollegeMajorsandCareerSearch.CollegeBoard