What is the minimum IQ score to join Mensa?
What is Mensa?
One of the most exclusive and elite clubs in the world is Mensa, also known as The High IQ Society, which accepts only people who score at or above the 98th percentile on an IQ test administered by one of its official representatives.
Mensa was formed in Oxford in 1946 by Roland Berrill, an Australian barrister and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. over the years the organisation spread around the world and there are now over 120,000 members worldwide.
The only requirement to join Mensa is a high IQ and there is no vetting of potential members, and no committee approval required to join, so Mensa argue that it is actually easier to join Mensa than a lot of other clubs and societies.
Mensa states that its aims are
- to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity
- to encourage research in the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence
- to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members
How do you join Mensa?
In order to join Mensa you need to prove that your IQ is in the top 2% of people in the population. For the majority of people this means you need to take a Mensa Supervised IQ Test.
Another method of entry is accreditation of a previous IQ test carried out by a qualified psychologist, such as a college or university psychologist, or a military psychologist.
Various IQ tests you may have previously taken are acceptable to Mensa to gain entry. Many supervised intelligence tests are accepted by Mensa, though each document needs to be assessed by a Mensa psychologist.
Accepted tests include:
- ACT (composite)
- GRE
- LSAT
- PSAT
- Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales
- Stanford Bine
What IQ score do you need to join Mensa?
Mensa accept scores from any approved and properly conducted IQ test and not just from those that they provide.
To take an approved Mensa you need to find a place at a Mensa Supervised IQ Test centre, with a session costing £26.95.
The pass mark on an IQ test to join Mensa varies, depending on the IQ test you are taking. In the Culture Fair test used by British Mensa, a score of 132 places a candidate in the top two per cent of the population (the average IQ is taken as 100) and will allow them to join. On the Cattell B III, also commonly used by Mensa, a score of 148 or above would be required to become accepted as a member of Mensa.
