Question
What IQ do you need for Mensa?
Short answer
Mensa accepts people who score at or above the 98th percentile, the top 2%, on an approved, supervised standardized test. On a scale with standard deviation 15 that is about 131. Mensa UK quotes 148 on Cattell III B and 132 on the Culture Fair test, both the 98th percentile on those scales.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
The rule is a percentile, not a number
Mensa's entry rule is the 98th percentile on an approved, supervised standardized test (Mensa International). A percentile works the same on every test, but the IQ number at that percentile depends on the scale. Older Stanford-Binet forms used a standard deviation of 16, and the Cattell Culture Fair III scale uses 24 (Wikipedia: IQ classification).
| Scale | 98th percentile |
|---|---|
| Standard deviation 15 (Wechsler and most modern tests) | about 131 |
| Standard deviation 16 (older Stanford-Binet forms) | about 133 |
| Standard deviation 24 (Cattell scale) | about 149 |
The table is computed from the normal curve. Mensa UK itself quotes 148 on Cattell III B and 132 on the Culture Fair test (Mensa UK). Small differences from the computed values come from how each test rounds and norms its scores, so the published figure for your test is the one that counts.
Try one · Logical Reasoning
Which tile completes the second pair?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing panel shows a large hatched circle, with small solid shapes: a square at the bottom-right corner and a square at the bottom (option 3).
How to solve it
- Compare the first two panels and name exactly what changed.
- The main shape and the small shapes swap forms: the main shape takes the form of the small ones, and the small ones take the form of the main shape.
- Nothing else changes.
- Apply the same change to the third panel: a large hatched square, with small solid shapes: a circle at the bottom-right corner and a circle at the bottom.
- So the missing panel shows a large hatched circle, with small solid shapes: a square at the bottom-right corner and a square at the bottom.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
How rare is the top 2%?
About 1 in 50 people. On the standard scale, the line falls just above 130, the start of the WAIS-IV Very Superior band. A score of 130 on a standard deviation 15 test reads as about 148 on a standard deviation 24 test. See the top 2 percent page for the curve.
What an online estimate can do
An online test cannot get you into Mensa, but it can tell you roughly where you stand before you book a supervised session. IQ Octopus gives an estimated IQ with a confidence range. If you want to practice the kind of matrix puzzles these tests use, try the free Mensa-style practice test. Read is a Mensa test an IQ test for how the admission tests work.
Sources
- About us. Mensa International. www.mensa.org/mensa/about-us
- IQ tests. British Mensa. www.mensa.org.uk/iq-tests
- IQ classification. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_classification