Does that means I can be part of the Mensa?

Question

I just took the quiz on their official website and got that:

Your score was 22 out of 30. That is a very good score—you would have a good chance of passing the Mensa test.

Does that means I could actually be part of the Mensa? Do you think I should go take a test over there or is it a waste of money? I don't beleive I am part of the top 2% of the world.

Is the real test like the one on their website?

Here is the quiz by the way: http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php

I think the test cost around $20 and you can take it once every 6-18 months.

Think I should give it a try?

Answer 1

If the online test says that you have a good chance, then that's fairly accurate. It depends on how well you do on actual timed tests, whether those offered by schools, like the SAT, GRE, etc, or if it's an actual monitored, or proctored, test.

Here's the actual American Mensa page that lists all of the current tests and their qualifying scores. http://www.us.mensa.org/Content/AML/NavigationMenu/Join/SubmitTestScores/QualifyingTestScores/QualifyingScores.htm

Here's the American Mensa page that gives you some information about the proctored test. http://www.us.mensa.org/Content/AML/NavigationMenu/Join/TakeourTest/TakeOurTest.htm

The minimum age for a Mensa proctored test is actually 14, and Mensa does accept scores for specific tests for people even younger. In the link above Mensa says, "Please note that American Mensa cannot test individuals younger than 14 years of age on the test date; however, these prospective members may submit evidence of prior testing to qualify. "

As the other answerer correctly recalls, the requirement is simply to score within the top 2% (or 0.02) for a given test depending on the statistical details of the test. Basically, it means that 1 person out of 50 would qualify.

Don't be discouraged by any numbers that you might see, though. Not everyone can expect to have quite the lofty IQ as the other answerer. Within the top 0.00003% is roughly the top 1 person out of every 3,500,000 (using a 15 SD scale). There would be less than 100 people in the entire United States at that level, which is an IQ of 175.

Take as many online and written tests as you can. Practice managing your time. Get a feel for the different types and categories of questions. Then, give it a go.

As with any kind of club, whether it's based on sports, gender, crafts, location, etc. Mensa membership has it pro's and con's. It depends on what you make it.

Answer 2

As I remember you need to score at or above the 98 percentile - i.e. you need to be within the top 2 percent. I did a Wasir test, which was rated sufficient to get into mensa. I'm within the top 0.00003%, and was told for the first 40 years of my life how much dumber than everyone around me I was - guess who have to admit that they are dumb now? :-)

It can be useful and fun, meeting with other people 'above average'.

Generally, there are two ways to prove that you qualify for Mensa: either take the Mensa test, or submit a qualifying test score from another test. There are a large number of intelligence tests that are "approved".

see http://www.mensa.org/index0.php?page=10

You need to be older than 16 for the tests to be statistically valid.

There's only one way to find out!

:-)