Glossary
Mensa
Definition
Mensa is a society open to people who score at or above the 98th percentile, the top 2%, on an approved, supervised standardized intelligence test. The qualifying number depends on the test scale: about 131 on a scale with a standard deviation of 15.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
The rule is a percentile
Mensa accepts people at or above the 98th percentile on an approved, supervised standardized test (Mensa International). The rule is stated as a percentile because different tests print different numbers for the same rank.
An example on three scales
- Standard deviation 15 (Wechsler and modern Stanford-Binet): about 131.
- Culture Fair test, as quoted by Mensa UK: 132 (Mensa UK).
- Cattell III B, as quoted by Mensa UK: 148 (Mensa UK).
On the SD 15 scale, an IQ of 130 is at about the 97.7th percentile, just under the line, and 132 is at about the 98.4th, just over it.
Common confusions
Mensa is a membership society, not a test publisher, and the top 2% is a statistical line, not a separate kind of person. A score near the line on any one test could fall either side on another, because every score carries measurement error. See what IQ is the top 2%, what IQ you need for Mensa, the Cattell Culture Fair test and standard deviation.
Mensa at a glance
Mensa was founded on October 1, 1946, by Lance Ware and Roland Berrill (Mensa International: history). American Mensa does not offer its admission test to anyone under 14 and allows one test or battery every eight weeks (American Mensa: testing), and it does not accept unsupervised internet tests (American Mensa: qualifying scores). The full guides: the Mensa admission test and what is Mensa.
Try one · Abstract Reasoning
Which tile completes the grid?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing tile has two solid circles (option 2).
How to solve it
- Start with the first row and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Every row and every column contains each shape (circle, cross and square) exactly once.
- Every row and every column contains each number of shapes (one, two and three) exactly once.
- The fill (solid) stays the same in every tile.
- Check the rules on the second row, then apply them to the third.
- So the missing tile has two solid circles.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- About us. Mensa International. www.mensa.org/mensa/about-us
- IQ tests. British Mensa. www.mensa.org.uk/iq-tests
- Mensa International. History of Mensa. www.mensa.org/mensa/history
- American Mensa. Admission testing. www.us.mensa.org/join/testing/
- American Mensa. Qualifying test scores. www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/qualifying-test-scores/