You'll walk away from some stands during Freshers' Week wondering why exactly you paid good money to join. Perusing the stands you'll be offered everything from free hot dogs to marriage proposals. Some societies will have no hesitation in physically coercing you into parting with your money.

One college had to reprimand its agricultural society for turning female students upside down and carrying them by the ankles to their membership stand. Other society auditors (chairpersons) put their best looking and most flirtatious committee members on the stand in order to lure you in their direction.

However, you'll quickly find yourself going into the red if you give money to every supplicant who catches your eye. The trick is to distinguish the societies which are going to keep you busy for the year from the ones that are going to use subscriptions to fund committee meetings in the pub.

To get the most out of a society, you have to be clear what you want from it. Some people want no more than a few subsidised parties and the chance to chat up that classmate they've been gazing across the lecture hall at since Freshers' Day. Others use it as a means of breaking into their dream career, be it politics, theatre or junior management in Proctor & Gamble (P&G traditionally have taken on graduates who were active in the society scene).

When trying to suss out a society, ask what kind of activities they organised last year and what they have planned for this year. Find out whether they've planned any trips away, and if they plan to take part in intervarsity competitions and conventions.

To really get the most out of a society, it's best to get involved in the nitty gritty of organisation and administration. The best way to worm your way into the affections of an auditor is to volunteer for something that no-one else wants to do, whether it be putting up posters or seeking out sponsorship for events. When the spoils are being divided out during the year, you'll get your just reward.

If you're career-minded, your activities with the society will prove to your future employers that you have initiative and organisational ability. Even if the society does nothing else other than have a committee dinner at the end of the year, at least you'll get your subscription's worth.

If you've any doubt about the worthiness of a society or you're short of cash during Freshers' Week, hold back for a while and see what activities the society or club organises in the first few weeks. Join when you're happy that they're a bona fide outfit or when you have a few quid to spare.

If the worst comes to the worst, and you can't find a society to satisfy your particular appetites, why not seek out a few like-minded souls and set up your own? It's unlikely to get official recognition in its first year but in many colleges societies who do well in their first 12 months are entitled to use college facilities and get some of the capitation budget the following year.