diff --git a/hackathon_site/hackathon_site/settings/__init__.py b/hackathon_site/hackathon_site/settings/__init__.py
index cd8bc46d..da67e438 100644
--- a/hackathon_site/hackathon_site/settings/__init__.py
+++ b/hackathon_site/hackathon_site/settings/__init__.py
@@ -37,9 +37,7 @@
 if DEBUG:
     ALLOWED_HOSTS = ["localhost", "127.0.0.1"]
     INTERNAL_IPS = ["localhost", "127.0.0.1"]
-    CORS_ORIGIN_REGEX_WHITELIST = [
-        r"^https?://localhost:?\d*$",
-    ]
+    CORS_ORIGIN_REGEX_WHITELIST = [r"^https?://localhost:?\d*$"]
     EMAIL_BACKEND = "django.core.mail.backends.filebased.EmailBackend"
     HSS_URL = "http://localhost:3000/"
 else:
@@ -192,7 +190,7 @@
     "default": {
         "BACKEND": "django_redis.cache.RedisCache",
         "LOCATION": f"redis://{REDIS_URI}",
-        "OPTIONS": {"CLIENT_CLASS": "django_redis.client.DefaultClient",},
+        "OPTIONS": {"CLIENT_CLASS": "django_redis.client.DefaultClient"},
         # Default time for cache key expiry, in seconds. Can be changed on a per-key basis
         "TIMEOUT": 600,
     }
@@ -219,7 +217,7 @@
     "DEFAULT_PAGINATION_CLASS": "rest_framework.pagination.LimitOffsetPagination",
     "DEFAULT_PERMISSION_CLASSES": ["rest_framework.permissions.IsAuthenticated"],
     "PAGE_SIZE": 100,
-    "DEFAULT_FILTER_BACKENDS": ["django_filters.rest_framework.DjangoFilterBackend",],
+    "DEFAULT_FILTER_BACKENDS": ["django_filters.rest_framework.DjangoFilterBackend"],
 }
 
 # Internationalization
@@ -271,8 +269,8 @@
     "version": 1,
     "disable_existing_loggers": False,
     "filters": {
-        "require_debug_false": {"()": "django.utils.log.RequireDebugFalse",},
-        "require_debug_true": {"()": "django.utils.log.RequireDebugTrue",},
+        "require_debug_false": {"()": "django.utils.log.RequireDebugFalse"},
+        "require_debug_true": {"()": "django.utils.log.RequireDebugTrue"},
     },
     "handlers": {
         "console": {
@@ -318,7 +316,7 @@
 
 REGISTRATION_OPEN_DATE = datetime(2024, 1, 18, 0, 0, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)
 REGISTRATION_CLOSE_DATE = datetime(2024, 10, 11, 23, 59, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)
-APPLICATION_OPEN_DATE = datetime(2025, 10, 1, 0, 0, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)
+APPLICATION_OPEN_DATE = datetime(2024, 9, 26, 0, 0, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)
 EVENT_START_DATE = datetime(2024, 10, 26, 8, 0, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)
 EVENT_END_DATE = datetime(2024, 10, 27, 17, 0, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)
 HARDWARE_SIGN_OUT_START_DATE = datetime(2024, 10, 28, 23, 59, 0, tzinfo=TZ_INFO)