Some people dread Mondays. Others dread the end of vacation. College students? They dread mid-August.
You’ve likely heard of the “Sunday scaries,” a term popularized on TikTok to describe the creeping sense of anxiety that sets in before the start of the school or workweek. But imagine that feeling stretched across the final weeks of summer break, amplified by factors such as move-in stress, adjusting to a new routine and the haunting return of 8:30 a.m. classes. That’s the summer scaries.
For many students, that anxious energy starts to build even before August hits. Rose Price, a fourth-year majoring in business administration and economics, described this lead-up as filled with anxious unknowns.
“You don’t really know what your workload is going to be yet, or how hard your classes will be,” Price said. “It’s a lot of uncertainty all at once.”
The shift from summer to the school year means more than just buying textbooks — it’s a total lifestyle change. “I quit my summer jobs, I’m moving back in with new roommates and my sleep schedule gets thrown off,” Price said. “Even my friendships at home feel different once I’m back in Raleigh.”
For many students, the first two weeks of the semester bring a boost of motivation, until reality sets in. “I feel motivated, but I kind of forget how to study,” Price said. “It always takes me a minute to get back into school mode.”
It’s easy for students to think of summer as a break and as an escape from the chaos of the previous school year. Adam Goldfarb, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, sees it differently, offering a perspective from the other side of the classroom.
“A common misconception about academia is that the summer is a time for rest, which it can be, but more often, it’s actually a really busy time to catch up on research,” Goldfarb said. “I remember when I was a younger grad student, I once emailed a professor saying, ‘I hope you’re enjoying your summer break,’ and he replied, ‘What is summer break?’”
Goldfarb also opened up about the self-doubt that can creep in when transitioning to the fall semester.
“We’re constantly improving, as teachers and as students, and it’s easy to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing,” Goldfarb said. “I think everyone feels this way at times. Even tenured faculty go through doubts.”
He emphasized that it’s normal to feel unsure and overwhelmed, but those feelings don’t mean that you don’t belong.
“It does get easier over time, but those insecurities are normal and shouldn’t dissuade you from feeling like you belong in this environment. Because if you didn’t belong, you wouldn’t be here. Being here means you’re supposed to be here,” Goldfarb said.
With summer quickly coming to an end and the summer scaries on the rise, it’s worth remembering that those feelings of unease aren’t just yours. They’re shared by students, professors and everyone in between.
The transition into a new school year is rarely seamless, often bringing new or returning feelings of fear, anxiety and pressure.
But it’s also a fresh start.
A new routine will take shape, friendships will fall back into place and that fog of uncertainty will lift. Whether you’ve done this before or not, you’ll figure it out. You’ll get back into the swing of things, even if it takes a little time. And if nothing else, at least you’re not the only one dreading mid-August.
