Here’s every type of student you’ll encounter in a Liverpool lecture – bad vibes edition

When you pictured your first university lecture, you probably imagined rows of students listening intently, laptops open, pens ready. The reality? A chaotic blend of characters that somehow all make up the unique Liverpool lecture experience.

There’s something exciting about picking out a handful of people in your lectures each week to keep tabs on, but it’s never for a good reason. You’ll bump into some strange old characters during your time at university in Liverpool, so you might as well familiarise yourself with some of the odd lecture behaviour.

Whether you’re new to campus or already know your way around The Guild, you’ll spot these types within minutes – and chances are, you’ll be one of them too.

The internet tab flicker

You know the one. The student who swears they’re taking notes but somehow has twelve tabs open. Shopping carts, Spotify playlists, and a suspiciously long scroll through their Amazon order history. When the lecture drags on, the snake game on Google suddenly becomes a lifeline. It’s not that they don’t care about the module… they’re just optimising their time. Plus, it’s fun to watch people fail the Wordle on a daily basis.

The fresher’s flu warrior

You’ve been there, haven’t you? Too ill to function, but you still drag yourself into a room full of equally sniffling students, all pretending not to cough. You sip your water for relief, briefly, before the tickle returns. Gum? Doesn’t work. Now your nose is running, and you’re down to your last tissue. The lecture ends, and you realise you couldn’t repeat a single thing that was said. But hey, at least you showed up. The bad vibes only occur when your nasal system is working perfectly fine, but you’ve got a chronic sniffler sat right behind you.

The actual student

There’s always that one person brave enough to answer when the lecturer asks a question that hangs awkwardly in the air. You look around, silently grateful that someone finally spoke up. Maybe one day, you’ll be the one to raise your hand – though probably not this week or next week. You just know their answer will blow you right out of the water and that feeling of dread will sink in as you realise you’ve got no idea what this module is about, and you start second guessing your entire uni career in the space of two minutes.

The napper

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You wake up, get ready, make it to the lecture, swipe in for attendance… and then someone has promptly mistaken your seat for a bed. You tell yourself they’ll just rest their eyes for a minute. Next thing you know, the room is half empty, the lights are on, and they’ve just been woken up by their own snore. Bless them. They’re not bad vibes, you’re just jealous of their confidence. And lack of sleep.

The phantom of the first class essays

You never see them, but you can always find them on a star student list. No one knows how they do it. They’re never in lectures, yet somehow always get firsts. Along with a suspiciously high attendance score, nicely curated by the course group chat and that one student who makes it their mission to share the attendance code. I’m just jealous actually.

The chronic muncher

You spot them before you hear them – the sound of a crinkling wrapper and the unmistakable scent of a Tesco meal deal. You try not to stare, but when you’ve been in a two-hour lecture and skipped lunch, watching someone confidently enjoy their falafel wrap feels almost personal. You don’t even like falafel, but now you kind of wish you had one too.

The campus celebrity

Every lecture has one. You don’t know them personally, but you ‘know’ them. They walk in five minutes late and somehow make it look intentional. Everyone knows their name or at least follows them on Instagram. They’ve probably been featured on the uni TikTok page or DJ’d at Heebies last weekend. They’re effortlessly confident, perpetually busy, and somehow always have a story that starts with, so last night…

As the weeks go on, you start to notice these characters popping up again and again. Some make you laugh, some make you roll your eyes – but together, they make the lecture experience what it is. Between the tab flickers, ghosts, and campus celebrities, you’ll find yourself somewhere in the mix.