The Truth About College Fests — From the Student Side

The Instagram version: Celebrities, lights, crowds, memories, "Best fest ever! 🎉"

The reality version: Two weeks of no sleep, zero academics, maximum stress, and wondering why you volunteered for this.

Every year, colleges across India transform into mini-festivals. And every year, the same story plays out. Here's what really happens behind those perfect photos.

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The Fest Timeline: What Actually Happens

3 Months Before

1 Month Before

1 Week Before

Day Before

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The Committee Structure: Titles vs. Reality

Official Hierarchy

├── Fest Convenor (Faculty)
├── Student Head
│   ├── Events
│   ├── Marketing
│   ├── Sponsorship
│   ├── Logistics
│   ├── Creative
│   ├── Technical
│   ├── Finance
│   ├── Security
│   └── PR

Actual Work Distribution

The Volunteer Experience

Before fest: "I want to be part of something big!"

During fest:

• Hour 1: Enthusiasm
• Hour 5: Confusion about role
• Hour 12: Doing random tasks
• Hour 18: "Why did I volunteer?"
• Hour 24: Stockholm syndrome kicks in
• Hour 36: Inexplicable loyalty to fest

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The Sponsorship Hustle

The Pitch Deck vs. Reality

Pitch Deck Claims:

• "Footfall: 20,000+"
• "Media coverage guaranteed"
• "Premium brand visibility"
• "Engaged audience"
• "Celebrity presence"

Reality:

• Footfall: Maybe 5,000 if you count everyone twice
• Media: Instagram stories from attendees
• Visibility: Banner that fell down twice
• Audience: On phones during events
• Celebrity: DJ from the neighboring city

Types of Sponsors

The Cold Calling Experience

Calls made: 200
Calls answered: 50
Meetings scheduled: 15
Meetings attended: 8
Interested: 4
Actually sponsored: 2
Worth it: Debatable

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The Budget Reality

Proposed vs. Actual Spending

Total over budget: Usually 20-40%

Where Money Actually Goes

• Celebrity/Headliner: 40-50%
• Infrastructure: 20-25%
• Marketing: 10-15%
• Everything else: Whatever's left
• Team food: More than budgeted

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The Event Experience

For Organizers

For Participants

Common Event Disasters

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The Celebrity Situation

What You Expect

• Celebrity arrives on time
• Performs their hits
• Takes photos with winners
• Thanks your college
• Leaves graciously

What Actually Happens

• Celebrity arrives 2 hours late
• Rider list includes specific water brand
• Green room demands are extensive
• Performs for less time than promised
• Leaves immediately after

Celebrity Rider Horror Stories (Common Ones)

• Specific temperature for green room (that doesn't have AC)
• "Only Evian water" (you get Bisleri, they don't notice)
• Private bathroom (the dean's office bathroom)
• No photography (everyone's recording anyway)
• Specific food (Swiggy to the rescue)

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The Sleep Deprivation Scale

Fest Week Sleep Schedule

The 48-Hour Stretch

Many organizers don't sleep for the final 48 hours:

• Night before: Setup
• Day 1: Events running
• Night 1: More setup, fixing
• Day 2: Main events
• Night 2: Celebrity prep
• Day 3: Finale + cleanup

Recovery time needed: 3-4 days minimum

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The Drama (Oh, the Drama)

Inter-Team Conflicts

Personal Drama

• Senior-junior dynamics
• Credit distribution fights
• "Who's in the photo" politics
• After-party inclusion/exclusion
• Certificate name spellings

The WhatsApp Group Archaeology

If you scroll through the fest WhatsApp group:

• Week 1: Excited messages, emojis
• Week 2: Planning discussions
• Week 3: Arguments in text
• Week 4: CAPS LOCK FIGHTING
• During fest: Urgent calls only
• After fest: Passive-aggressive thanks

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What Attendees Don't See

Before They Arrive

• 3 AM banner printing
• Running to borrow extension boards
• Begging security for extra time
• Hiding incomplete decorations
• Testing sound for 4 hours

During the Fest

• Organizers haven't eaten
• Multiple small fires (sometimes literal)
• Constant coordination chaos
• Decisions made on the fly
• Budget exhausted halfway through

After They Leave

• Cleanup takes longer than setup
• Accounting nightmares
• Missing equipment
• Vendor payment follow-ups
• Exhausted teams

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The Aftermath

Immediate (Days 1-3)

• Sleep. So much sleep.
• Realizing academic backlog
• WhatsApp group goes silent
• Body finally crashes

Short-term (Week 1-2)

• Grades suffer
• Attendance tanked
• But "it was worth it" feeling
• Stories to tell

Long-term

• Resume point acquired
• Memories formed
• Friendships forged
• Skills actually learned:
  • Crisis management
  • Team coordination
  • Budget management
  • Negotiation
  • Leadership under pressure

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Why We Still Do It

Despite everything, students volunteer for fests year after year. Why?

The Real Reasons

What You Actually Gain

• Network: You meet everyone
• Skills: Crisis management, real-world
• Stories: For life
• Friends: Bonded through chaos
• Experience: Nothing teaches like doing
• Memories: The good ones stay

The Stockholm Syndrome Effect

After every fest:

• "Never again"
• One month later: "It wasn't that bad"
• Next year: "I'll help this time too"
• Eventually: "I'll lead this"

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Advice for Future Fest Organizers

Before You Join

1. Know the time commitment (it's more than they say)
2. Understand the work (it's not just attending events)
3. Check your academics (can you afford to fall behind?)
4. Know your team (who actually works?)

During Fest Prep

1. Document everything (budgets, decisions, contacts)
2. Build redundancy (backup for every critical thing)
3. Sleep when you can (it compounds)
4. Eat properly (energy is real)
5. Communicate over-clearly (assumptions kill)

During the Fest

1. Stay calm (panic spreads faster than solutions)
2. Delegate (you can't do everything)
3. Trust your team (even when worried)
4. Handle crises quietly (attendees shouldn't know)
5. Take photos (you'll want them)

After the Fest

1. Rest first (then assess)
2. Do post-mortem (learn for next year)
3. Thank everyone (genuinely)
4. Close finances (vendors waiting)
5. Document learnings (for successors)

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Conclusion: The Beautiful Chaos

College fests are objectively insane undertakings. Students with no event management experience somehow pull off multi-day festivals with celebrities, thousands of attendees, and dozens of events.

It's stressful. It's exhausting. It's chaotic.

And it's one of the most formative experiences of college life.

The fest you see on Instagram is the polished version. The real fest is made of sleepless nights, crisis management, and people pushing through anyway.

So the next time you attend a college fest, remember: somewhere behind that stage, a group of students who haven't slept in 48 hours are holding everything together with caffeine and determination.

Appreciate them. They're doing something remarkable.

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The best college fests aren't defined by the celebrity. They're defined by the team that didn't give up.

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• The Psychology of College Attendance
• The Science of Being Broke in College