diff --git a/backend/api/index.ts b/backend/api/index.ts
index b7502d9..546482f 100644
--- a/backend/api/index.ts
+++ b/backend/api/index.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // Explicitly tell module-alias where to find package.json in backend directory
-// @ts-ignore - module-alias doesn't have types
+// @ts-expect-error - module-alias doesn't have types
 import moduleAlias from "module-alias";
-
 moduleAlias(require.resolve("../package.json"));
 import type { VercelRequest, VercelResponse } from "@vercel/node";
 import mongoose from "mongoose";
diff --git a/backend/src/controllers/InterviewQuestionController.ts b/backend/src/controllers/InterviewQuestionController.ts
index d0f6ade..50c8231 100644
--- a/backend/src/controllers/InterviewQuestionController.ts
+++ b/backend/src/controllers/InterviewQuestionController.ts
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ import asyncHandler from "express-async-handler";
 import createHttpError from "http-errors";
 import Company from "../models/Company";
 import mongoose from "mongoose";
-import User from "../models/User";
 
 // Interface for creating/updating an interview question
 interface InterviewQuestionCreate {
   company: mongoose.Types.ObjectId;
+  userId: string;
   question: string;
-  date: Date;
+  date?: Date;
 }
 
 interface InterviewQuestionUpdate extends Partial<InterviewQuestionCreate> {}
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ export const getAllInterviewQuestions = asyncHandler(async (req, res, _) => {
   // TODO: Implement with paginated date, for now it will just return all interview questions for testing
   const interviewQuestions = await InterviewQuestion.find()
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -63,7 +62,6 @@ export const createInterviewQuestion = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
     question: interviewQuestionData.question,
   })
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -93,7 +91,6 @@ export const getInterviewQuestionById = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
   // Find interview question by ID
   const interviewQuestion = await InterviewQuestion.findById(id)
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -125,7 +122,6 @@ export const getInterviewQuestionsByCompanyId = asyncHandler(
       company: companyId,
     })
       .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-      .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
       .lean()
       .exec();
 
@@ -176,7 +172,6 @@ export const updateInterviewQuestion = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
     { new: true, runValidators: true },
   )
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
diff --git a/backend/src/controllers/applicationController.ts b/backend/src/controllers/applicationController.ts
index 7e87d3a..dedc87e 100644
--- a/backend/src/controllers/applicationController.ts
+++ b/backend/src/controllers/applicationController.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import mongoose, { PipelineStage } from "mongoose";
 interface ApplicationCreate {
   userId: string;
   company: mongoose.Types.ObjectId;
+  companyName: string;
   position: string;
   link?: string;
   location?: string;
diff --git a/backend/src/controllers/leetcodeQuestionController.ts b/backend/src/controllers/leetcodeQuestionController.ts
index 2416b94..9780ff8 100644
--- a/backend/src/controllers/leetcodeQuestionController.ts
+++ b/backend/src/controllers/leetcodeQuestionController.ts
@@ -6,12 +6,11 @@ import validationErrorParser from "../util/validationErrorParser";
 import createHttpError from "http-errors";
 import Company from "../models/Company";
 import mongoose from "mongoose";
-import User from "../models/User";
 
 // interface for creating/updating leetcodeQuestions
 interface leetcodeQuestionCreate {
   company: mongoose.Types.ObjectId;
-  user: mongoose.Types.ObjectId;
+  userId: string;
   title: string;
   url: string;
   difficulty: Difficulty;
@@ -61,7 +60,6 @@ export const getLeetcodeQuestions = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
       .skip(page * perPage)
       .limit(perPage)
       .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-      .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
       .lean()
       .exec(),
   ]);
@@ -106,7 +104,6 @@ export const createLeetcodeQuestion = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
     newLeetcodeQuestion._id,
   )
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -134,7 +131,6 @@ export const getLeetcodeQuestionById = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
   // Find leetcodeQuestion by ID
   const leetcodeQuestion = await LeetcodeQuestion.findById(id)
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -176,7 +172,6 @@ export const updateLeetcodeQuestion = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
     { new: true, runValidators: true },
   )
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -226,7 +221,6 @@ export const getLeetcodeQuestionByCompanyId = asyncHandler(
       company: companyId,
     })
       .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-      .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
       .lean()
       .exec();
 
diff --git a/backend/src/controllers/savedApplicationController.ts b/backend/src/controllers/savedApplicationController.ts
index 3b6a749..b6a1627 100644
--- a/backend/src/controllers/savedApplicationController.ts
+++ b/backend/src/controllers/savedApplicationController.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import mongoose, { PipelineStage } from "mongoose";
 interface SavedApplicationCreate {
   userId: string;
   company: mongoose.Types.ObjectId;
+  companyName: string;
   position: string;
   location?: string;
   link?: string;
diff --git a/backend/src/controllers/tipController.ts b/backend/src/controllers/tipController.ts
index db0e415..1b4b864 100644
--- a/backend/src/controllers/tipController.ts
+++ b/backend/src/controllers/tipController.ts
@@ -5,11 +5,10 @@ import asyncHandler from "express-async-handler";
 import createHttpError from "http-errors";
 import { Schema } from "mongoose";
 import Company from "../models/Company";
-import User from "../models/User";
 
 // Interface for creating/updating a tip
 interface TipCreate {
-  user: string;
+  userId: string;
   company: Schema.Types.ObjectId;
   text: string;
 }
@@ -25,7 +24,6 @@ export const getAllTips = asyncHandler(async (req, res, _) => {
   // Retrieve all tips from the database
   const tips = await Tip.find()
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -55,7 +53,6 @@ export const createTip = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
 
   const populatedTip = await Tip.findById(newTip._id)
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -82,7 +79,6 @@ export const getTipById = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
   // Find the tip by ID
   const tip = await Tip.findById(id)
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -130,7 +126,6 @@ export const updateTipById = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
     { new: true, runValidators: true },
   )
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
@@ -189,7 +184,6 @@ export const getTipsByCompanyId = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
   // Find tips for the specified company with pagination
   const tips = await Tip.find({ company: id })
     .populate({ path: "company", model: Company })
-    .populate({ path: "user", model: User })
     .lean()
     .exec();
 
diff --git a/backend/src/middlewares/logger.ts b/backend/src/middlewares/logger.ts
index afa0d87..574905a 100644
--- a/backend/src/middlewares/logger.ts
+++ b/backend/src/middlewares/logger.ts
@@ -8,8 +8,14 @@ export const logEvents = async (message: string, logFileName: string) => {
   const dateTime = new Date();
   const logItem = `${dateTime}\t${message}\n`;
 
+  // Skip file logging on Vercel (read-only filesystem)
+  if (process.env.VERCEL === "1") {
+    console.log(logItem);
+    return;
+  }
+
   try {
-    // Create logs directory if it doesn't exist
+    // Create logs directory if it doesn't exist (local only)
     if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(__dirname, "..", "logs"))) {
       await fsPromises.mkdir(path.join(__dirname, "..", "logs"));
     }
diff --git a/backend/src/models/Application.ts b/backend/src/models/Application.ts
index 4717efe..7d6183d 100644
--- a/backend/src/models/Application.ts
+++ b/backend/src/models/Application.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ const applicationSchema = new Schema(
       type: Schema.Types.ObjectId,
       required: true,
     },
+    companyName: {
+      type: String,
+      required: true,
+      trim: true,
+    },
     position: {
       type: String,
       required: true,
diff --git a/backend/src/models/InterviewQuestion.ts b/backend/src/models/InterviewQuestion.ts
index 8b77edb..cf1fd72 100644
--- a/backend/src/models/InterviewQuestion.ts
+++ b/backend/src/models/InterviewQuestion.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ const interviewQuestionSchema = new Schema({
     type: Schema.Types.ObjectId,
     required: true,
   },
-  user: {
+  userId: {
     type: String,
     required: true,
   },
diff --git a/backend/src/models/LeetcodeQuestion.ts b/backend/src/models/LeetcodeQuestion.ts
index 8a292ce..ba3e333 100644
--- a/backend/src/models/LeetcodeQuestion.ts
+++ b/backend/src/models/LeetcodeQuestion.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ const leetcodeQuestionSchema = new Schema({
     type: Schema.Types.ObjectId,
     required: true,
   },
-  user: {
+  userId: {
     type: String,
     required: true,
   },
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ type LeetcodeQuestion = InferSchemaType<typeof leetcodeQuestionSchema>;
 // Add indexes for better performance
 leetcodeQuestionSchema.index({ difficulty: 1 }); // Difficulty filtering
 leetcodeQuestionSchema.index({ company: 1 }); // Company filtering
-leetcodeQuestionSchema.index({ user: 1 }); // User's questions
+leetcodeQuestionSchema.index({ userId: 1 }); // User's questions
 leetcodeQuestionSchema.index({ title: "text" }); // Title search
 
 export default model<LeetcodeQuestion>(
diff --git a/backend/src/models/SavedApplication.ts b/backend/src/models/SavedApplication.ts
index 15beecb..8509e7b 100644
--- a/backend/src/models/SavedApplication.ts
+++ b/backend/src/models/SavedApplication.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ const savedApplicationSchema = new Schema(
       type: Schema.Types.ObjectId,
       required: true,
     },
+    companyName: {
+      type: String,
+      required: true,
+      trim: true,
+    },
     location: {
       type: String,
       required: false,
diff --git a/backend/src/models/Tips.ts b/backend/src/models/Tips.ts
index 9fc3f62..aa0c956 100644
--- a/backend/src/models/Tips.ts
+++ b/backend/src/models/Tips.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { InferSchemaType, Schema, model } from "mongoose";
 
 const tipSchema = new Schema(
   {
-    user: {
+    userId: {
       type: String,
       required: true,
     },
diff --git a/backend/src/validators/applicationValidator.ts b/backend/src/validators/applicationValidator.ts
index df743d6..b68f350 100644
--- a/backend/src/validators/applicationValidator.ts
+++ b/backend/src/validators/applicationValidator.ts
@@ -68,6 +68,13 @@ const validateCompany = body("company")
   .withMessage("invalid company. (Must be a Mongo ObjectID.)")
   .trim();
 
+const validateCompanyName = body("companyName")
+  .isString()
+  .withMessage("companyName must be a string.")
+  .trim()
+  .notEmpty()
+  .withMessage("companyName must be a non-empty string.");
+
 const validatePosition = body("position")
   .isString()
   .withMessage("position must be a string.")
@@ -116,6 +123,7 @@ const validateProcess = [
 export const createApplicationValidator = [
   validateUserId,
   validateCompany,
+  validateCompanyName,
   validatePosition,
   validateLink,
   validateLocation,
@@ -128,6 +136,7 @@ export const updateApplicationValidator = [
   validateId,
   validateUserId.optional(),
   validateCompany.optional(),
+  validateCompanyName.optional(),
   validatePosition.optional(),
   validateLocation.optional(),
   validateLink.optional(),
diff --git a/backend/src/validators/interviewQuestionValidator.ts b/backend/src/validators/interviewQuestionValidator.ts
index 39e78c4..fe33fa4 100644
--- a/backend/src/validators/interviewQuestionValidator.ts
+++ b/backend/src/validators/interviewQuestionValidator.ts
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ const validateCompanyIdParam = param("companyId")
   .withMessage("invalid company id. (Must be a Mongo ObjectID.)")
   .trim();
 
-const validateUser = body("user")
+const validateUserId = body("userId")
   .isString()
-  .withMessage("invalid user id. (Must be a string)")
-  .trim();
+  .withMessage("invalid userId. (Must be a string)")
+  .trim()
+  .notEmpty()
+  .withMessage("userId must be a non-empty string.");
 
 const validateQuestion = body("question")
   .isString()
@@ -68,7 +70,7 @@ export const getInterviewQuestionsValidator = [
 
 export const createInterviewQuestionValidator = [
   validateCompany,
-  validateUser,
+  validateUserId,
   validateQuestion,
   validateDate,
 ];
@@ -77,7 +79,7 @@ export const getInterviewQuestionByIdValidator = [validateIdParam];
 
 export const updateInterviewQuestionValidator = [
   validateIdParam,
-  validateUser.optional(),
+  validateUserId.optional(),
   validateCompany.optional(),
   validateQuestion.optional(),
   validateDate,
diff --git a/backend/src/validators/leetcodeQuestionValidator.ts b/backend/src/validators/leetcodeQuestionValidator.ts
index 5e5901f..f811c97 100644
--- a/backend/src/validators/leetcodeQuestionValidator.ts
+++ b/backend/src/validators/leetcodeQuestionValidator.ts
@@ -20,10 +20,12 @@ const validateCompanyIdParam = param("companyId")
   .withMessage("invalid company id. (Must be a Mongo ObjectID.)")
   .trim();
 
-const validateUser = body("user")
+const validateUserId = body("userId")
   .isString()
-  .withMessage("invalid user id. (Must be a string)")
-  .trim();
+  .withMessage("invalid userId. (Must be a string)")
+  .trim()
+  .notEmpty()
+  .withMessage("userId must be a non-empty string.");
 
 const validateTitle = body("title")
   .isString()
@@ -105,7 +107,7 @@ export const getLeetcodeQuestionsValidator = [
 
 export const createLeetcodeQuestionValidator = [
   validateCompany,
-  validateUser,
+  validateUserId,
   validateTitle,
   validateURL,
   validateDifficulty,
@@ -116,7 +118,7 @@ export const getLeetcodeQuestionByIdValidator = [validateIdParam];
 
 export const updateLeetcodeQuestionValidator = [
   validateIdParam,
-  validateUser.optional(),
+  validateUserId.optional(),
   validateCompany.optional(),
   validateTitle.optional(),
   validateURL.optional(),
diff --git a/backend/src/validators/savedApplicationValidator.ts b/backend/src/validators/savedApplicationValidator.ts
index d9cffcb..c79cdff 100644
--- a/backend/src/validators/savedApplicationValidator.ts
+++ b/backend/src/validators/savedApplicationValidator.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ const validateCompany = body("company")
   .withMessage("invalid company id. (Must be a Mongo ObjectID.)")
   .trim();
 
+const validateCompanyName = body("companyName")
+  .isString()
+  .withMessage("companyName must be a string.")
+  .trim()
+  .notEmpty()
+  .withMessage("companyName must be a non-empty string.");
+
 const validateLocation = body("location")
   .optional()
   .isString()
@@ -81,6 +88,7 @@ const validatePerPage = query("perPage")
 export const createSavedApplicationValidator = [
   validateUserId,
   validateCompany,
+  validateCompanyName,
   validatePosition,
   validateLocation,
   validateLink,
@@ -93,6 +101,7 @@ export const getSavedApplicationValidator = [validateParamId];
 export const updateSavedApplicationValidator = [
   validateParamId,
   validateCompany.optional(),
+  validateCompanyName.optional(),
   validatePosition.optional(),
   validateLink.optional(),
   validateLocation.optional(),
diff --git a/backend/src/validators/tipValidator.ts b/backend/src/validators/tipValidator.ts
index f0e5349..d9dd148 100644
--- a/backend/src/validators/tipValidator.ts
+++ b/backend/src/validators/tipValidator.ts
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@ const validateId = param("id")
   .withMessage("Invalid tip id. (Must be a Mongo ObjectID.)")
   .trim();
 
-const validateUser = body("user")
+const validateUserId = body("userId")
   .isString()
-  .withMessage("user must be a string.")
+  .withMessage("userId must be a string.")
   .trim()
   .notEmpty()
-  .withMessage("user must be a non-empty string.");
+  .withMessage("userId must be a non-empty string.");
 
 const validateCompany = body("company")
   .isMongoId()
@@ -45,13 +45,17 @@ const validateCompanyId = param("id")
 //   .toInt()
 //   .withMessage("per page must be an integer greater than 1");
 
-export const createTipValidator = [validateUser, validateCompany, validateText];
+export const createTipValidator = [
+  validateUserId,
+  validateCompany,
+  validateText,
+];
 
 export const getTipValidator = [validateId];
 
 export const updateTipValidator = [
   validateId,
-  validateUser.optional(),
+  validateUserId.optional(),
   validateCompany.optional(),
   validateText.optional(),
 ];
diff --git a/frontend/index.html b/frontend/index.html
index 540cc85..32d6173 100644
--- a/frontend/index.html
+++ b/frontend/index.html
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<!doctype html>
+<!DOCTYPE html>
 <html lang="en">
   <head>
     <meta charset="utf-8" />