Find out everything about
Mensa and IQ tests

Discover how to get into Mensa, the benefits, accepted IQ tests 
and their organization and history.

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WHAT IS MENSA?

Mensa is an international organization that congregates highly intelligent persons around the world and whose aim is to promote the development of intelligence for the benefit of humanity through research and support.

MENSA IN  NUMBERS

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145,000+ members
worldwide
Founded
in 1946
Present in more
than 90 countries

WHICH IS THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE?

Below you can find the quick links to the official websites of Mensa: the website for the international Mensa and the list of websites for each Mensa local country organization.
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See Mensa International
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Find Mensa by country
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What are the requirements to
join Mensa?

First, take an IQ test accepted by Mensa
The first step to join Mensa is to take an IQ test accepted by your local country Mensa organization. They accept the most important intelligence tests administered by psychologists and they usually can offer you their own test too for a smaller fee.
Second, score in the top 2%
To be able to join Mensa, you must score in the top 2% of the IQ scale, which is approximately reaching an IQ of 132 or better.
Finally, request admission and pay the membership fees
If you have the necessary score, you must request admission at your local country Mensa organization and send proof of your IQ score if you did not perform the test with them. Each country requires a yearly membership fee that varies from country to country. For example, in the USA it costs 79$ while in Spain it amounts to 39€.

How to prepare for the Mensa IQ Test?

1
Train with iOS Mensa’s App
Mensa has developed a mobile application in collaboration with a game studio that offers several brain training games that you can use to sharpen your skills and prepare. Only available for iOS Apple phones. Learn more here.
2
Learn from the explained answers of BrainTesting’s IQ Test
Our website has a premium plan that explains all the answers to the IQ Test. It will be a great resource in order to compare your reasoning with the given answers and will help you prepare for new unexpected questions such the ones in the Mensa test.
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3
Practice with Mensa’s IQ Challenge
You can find a free Mensa challenge at its international website that you can use for practice. Also, many Mensa local country’s websites, such as the american mensa, offer practice tests for a small fee. The drawback is that you will not find explained answers.
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Go to Mensa’s IQ Challenge
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4
Purchase an IQ Test training book
There are many great books with puzzles and challenges. An example is this book from Mensa.
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Go to Mensa’s IQ Challenge
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What are the benefits of joining Mensa?

Participate in Mensa activities
All Mensa local country organizations have different  social activities that help their members pursue together their interests.
Make new friends with a high IQ
When you have a very high IQ, you might have trouble finding friends and partners of a similar IQ. With Mensa you get acquainted with other high IQ people that understand you well.
Proudly belong to a 
high IQ group
By being part of an organization of similar persons, you will feel accompanied and will be able to share similar problems and challenges of your personal and career life.
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FAQs about Mensa IQ Test

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What is the price of the Mensa IQ Test?
If you are considering doing an IQ test to enter Mensa, the ones offered by the Mensa local country organizations are usually a great option for a small fee. 



The test price varies from country to country. For example, in-person tests cost 60$ in the USA and 25€ in Spain. You can find here your country’s price and website.



Another option is doing an IQ test accepted by your Mensa local organization and administered by a licensed psychologist such as the Stanford-Binet or the Wechsler Scales. Afterwards, you just need to present your score certification.
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How many times can I take the Mensa IQ Test?
You can only take two times the Mensa IQ test that the local country organizations offer. This is intended to give a second chance to people that have a bad day or score close to the required percentile and want to try one more time. Yet at the same time it tries to impede that people achieve the needed score by learning or repetition. 



Having said that, nothing forbids or limits you to take as many IQ tests as you want with an approved psychologist or to practice beforehand with online tests. We recommend to do that online as the in-person accepted tests are not easily improved by learning and you will probably reach a similar score.

How is Mensa organized?

Mensa is actually not just one organization but a group made up of several entities:
  • An international Mensa organization based in Britain that coordinates all of them,
  • The Mensa foundation, and
  • The local organizations of each country.
‍Only the biggest local organizations, like the ones from the USA and Germany, have representation in the Board of Directors of international Mensa. Let’s see it visually:
Graphical organization of Mensa
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The history of Mensa

The Mensa organization is quite old. It all started in Britain, where in 1946 the foundations of the society where established by two lawyers, Roland Berrill and Lance Ware. Roland and Lance created Mensa in order to have an association where highly intelligent people could gather and socialize, promote the research of intelligence and in general create a space free of religious, political or racial distinctions where fostering intelligence for the benefit of humanity would be at its core. 



Pretty soon several national groups started appearing in many countries. To be able to coordinate with them, a Mensa Constitution was agreed upon by the different national groups.

Several modifications have been made since then. For example, in 1982 an International Board of Directors was created. This Board of Directors of International Mensa leads the international organization of Mensa and its relations with each local group.

Besides the International Mensa organization, which is a company based in Britain, there is also a foundation that belongs to the group and which grants scholarships and funds for interesting initiatives that research the area of intelligence. It also publishes the Mensa research journal with articles related to intelligence.

As of today, Mensa has more than 150.000 members around the world and its biggest national group, the american Mensa, counts more than 50.000.