Prospective students must create a profile supplying the following information:

• Email address for the log in details.

• Name: The users can choose to put an alias just as long as it's a respectful one.

• Level of studies: Undergraduate or Graduate. The graduate category can be broken into: Master's, Graduate certificate, or Doctorate.

• A picture: The users can choose to upload an avatar or any photo they like for as long as it is not offensive.

Once the prospective student's profile is all set up, the prospective student can use the Fulcrum app as explained below.

The Fulcrum app provides 4 main ways to know more about a specific major/program.

1. Basic psychometric tests: The user can take a psychometric test so that the user can narrow down the programs they want to explore.

2. Search by interests: The user can click through sample interests provided in the app and that would lead them to suggested programs.

3. Search by A to Z: For users that have a program in mind, they can hop on the A to Z directory and search for the area of study they want to know more about.

4. Search by keywords: The users can also type in certain keywords and that would also generate a list of programs they might be interested to look at.

Based on the programs the students click on, the app can customize and provide recommendations through the following ways listed below:

• Personalize the app based on users' interests and academic interests.

• Recommend relevant programs and resources.

The Fulcrum app addresses this problem through the following steps:

1. The user will create a basic profile on the app.

2. The profile allows prospective students to connect with specific students in the field of study they are interested in.

To match with an existing student, the current students will have:

• Basic profiles showcasing their majors, minors, and academic experiences.

Through this capability the prospective students can:

• Pick which existing student they want to interact with.

• Get a more accurate picture of what the program they're interested in is all about.

3. The prospective students can interact with the existing university students through existing forums centred on a topic the existing student started based on their insights, challenges, and successes related to their fields of study or the prospective student can start a new forum with a new topic.

4. The prospective students can also opt to connect with the existing student directly through chat.

5. The prospective students can also read profiles of alumni and their career trajectory. Some details include:

• Educational journey

• Challenges faced

• How they leveraged their degrees

The creation of a profile allows the following ways of information dissemination:

1. The profiles will allow student services, admissions, and recruitment to send out basic admissions requirements.

2. The basic list of admissions requirements will have the contact information of the academic advisor and they can contact them directly through the app should they have additional questions.

3. The profiles will give the prospective students alerts regarding events hosted by their faculty of choosing. Thereby, increasing the chances of involvement and clarification of any questions that prospective students might have.

The app can:

• Allow users to rate academic programs and share their experiences with the app.

• Collect feedback on the usefulness of the app so the developers can continually improve the app's functionality.