Download - Design Specification Final

7/29/2019 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

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