About Mensa

What is Mensa?

Mensa is for those who rejoice in the exercise of the mind. If you enjoy mental challenges and revel in the interplay of ideas, Mensa is an organization that will stretch your mind and expand your horizons. Mensa is an international society that has one—and only one—unique qualification for membership: you must score in the top two percent of the population on a standardized IQ test.

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What is the purpose of Mensa?

Mensa’s purposes are to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research into the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.

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What type of people are members of Mensa?

Mensans come from all walks of life. They range from three to nearly 100 years old. They represent both sexes, all races, various professions and many religions. However, they share one trait: high intelligence.

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How do I have social interaction with other members?

Activities are scheduled almost daily on the Mensa calendar. Locally, these range from meetings to guest speakers to parties. Members can also attend regional, national and international gatherings providing opportunities to meet other Mensans.

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How do I receive intellectual stimulation as a member?

You’ll find a good “mental workout” in the Mensa Bulletin, the national magazine. In M-Pathy, the local newsletter, you can share your opinions as well as read other points of view. Meetings and gatherings provide many opportunities for intellectual stimulation.

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How do Mensans help others?

The three programs listed above are programs of American Mensa Ltd., our national organization. These programs, and several others, are also part of SEMM’s local efforts.

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Are there groups in Mensa that share my special interests?

There are presently more than 150 national Special Interest Groups (SIGs). These groups are started and maintained by members who share a common interest. Groups communicate regularly via newsletters and other forums. There are also SIGs that operate locally. Any member is free to start a SIG.

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Are there other special benefits to being a Mensa member?

Along with the intellectual and social activities for Mensans, members receive other special benefits. These are programs which offer special discounts to Mensa members. These programs are offered on the national level.

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How do I join Mensa?

Prior Evidence

If you have evidence of a score in the top two percent of the general population on a supervised standardized intelligence test, that score may serve as “prior evidence.”

Tests given by an institution/agency/clinic must include the full name of the test, the score and the percentile rank. This documentation must be on the institution/agency/clinic letterhead and signed by the psychologist responsible for the testing, along with the license/certification number of the psychologist, issued by the state in which the psychologist practices.

Evidence in a school transcript must be a school document with a seal. An armed forces record must be a notarized copy.

All prior evidence will be appraised individually and Mensa reserves the right to make the final determination as to the acceptability of the test. There is a one-time processing fee associated with this service.

Mensa Admission Tests

You can take the Mensa Admission tests, which are supervised by a certified Mensa proctor. If you score at or above the 98th percentile on one of these tests, you qualify for membership. There is a fee for taking this test. The tests are not valid for people under the age of 14, who can qualify through prior evidence. Mensa does offer a battery of culture-fair, non-language tests.

You can take a pretest in the privacy of your home. There is a small pre-test fee.

For local testing information and scheduling, contact our testing coordinator. You may also dial (817) 607-0060 for national American Mensa testing information.

Mensa Dues

There are yearly dues for Mensa at rates similar to other organizations of this type and size. Life, multi-year and family plans are available as well.

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