# What is the Probability that I'd Get into Mensa? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338 "2010-09-02T01:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/61 "2011-08-18T18:47:22Z")
I find it interesting that Mensa won’t accept any SAT scores after the test was dumbed down in 1994, but Triple Nine will. They require a combined score of 1520 or higher after 1994, or 1450 before then. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/62 "2011-08-18T19:03:24Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > You mean anyone who _qualified_ and was denied admission? No, I was asking whether people are turned away from membership, period. The Mensa website says that they include people whose IQs are in the top 2%, and they also accept scores from college prep exams, military tests, and other psychological tests. But they also acknowledge having members from preschool, and members as young as 2. So I’m asking whether there are people who have been declined membership, and specifically whether there’s anyone here who has been denied, so we might inquire further about the actual process. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/63 "2011-08-18T19:53:20Z")
What’s the big deal with Mensa anyway? It always struck me as a bunch of eggheads sitting around stroking their egos about how smart they were, and I never wanted any part of that. (FWIW, I qualify 3 different ways (PSAT, SAT, GMAT), so I’m not at all bitter about not being able to make it in or anything like that) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/64 "2011-08-18T20:25:36Z")
IMO, the benefit is to have a card you can pull out of your wallet to certify you’re a genius if anyone challenges you on your claim – and once you have the card, you’ll probably make the claim a lot more often. 😛 Anyway, that’s the reason _I_ would join. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/65 "2011-08-18T22:55:15Z")
**bump** , if you never wanted any part of it, then it isn’t a big deal, and you probably shouldn’t join, because it probably isn’t for you. I keep my card in my wallet so I won’t have to memorize my membership number for voting purposes. It’s in the back with my insurance cards, so nobody sees it; I don’t “flash” it. There is no need for anyone to “challenge” me on my claim, because I make no claim. Anyone here who wishes me to prove that I am a member can go on wishing. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/66 "2011-08-18T23:10:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by anson2995 View Post > I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who applied for admission and was denied. Does it actually happen. When I did the test there was another woman there as well. I got in, she didn’t. I took the test on the advice of a friend, even though her husband and his friend had just failed to get in. They do not accept everyone who takes the test. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/67 "2011-08-18T23:11:15Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Sorry! I meant it as a joke. It seemed funny to ask us to figure out a probability problem about your odds of being smart enough for Mensa. I didn’t mean to insult you. I guess I should have used a smiley, except I hate them. Or just not have posted. Well, I came in here to post exactly the same thing, so I don’t see how anyone could not see it as a joke. Come to think of it, if you can’t see that as a joke, you’re probably not smart enough for Mensa. 🙂 There. I got my little zinger in after all! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/68 "2011-08-18T23:18:23Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What’s the big deal with Mensa anyway? I think the biggest deal is that some people have to spend their days with idiots and they’d like a chance to relax after work and converse with people who aren’t idiots. I toyed with joining when I was in college, because I thought it would help me get a job. Then I asked a bunch of engineering managers I knew about it and they said they’d be _less_ likely to hire someone who put Mensa on their resume – they’d assume the person was stuck up and hard to manage (As if engineers aren’t hard to manage anyway!). Today, I live in an area where the nearest Mensa meeting is over an hour’s drive from home, so I really don’t see a reason to join. Also, since I own an indie bookstore with a tea bar and WiFi, I have an opportunity to interact with plenty of smart people in my day-to-day life. > [@bump](#): > > It always struck me as a bunch of eggheads sitting around stroking their egos about how smart they were, and I never wanted any part of that. Beards, **bump**. Stroking their _beards_. “[Van Dykes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=620809),” I think they’re called. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/69 "2011-08-19T01:43:28Z")
I’ve been a member of Mensa for 9 years and I’m also a proctor, so I thought I’d throw my 2 cents in. The main reason I joined is because I was/am a nerd with few friends and thought this would be a way to meet people. It worked, because that’s how I met Mr. Ipsum. 🙂 In my local group, it’s essentially a social club. It’s like that for other local groups too, although they may have varying degrees of “intellectual” activities or community service or whatever. In the national newsletter, it seems like every month some newbie will write in saying, “I thought Mensa was about doing intellectual things, or making the world better, but it’s just about people sitting around playing games!” Seriously, this type of thing was appearing in every letters-to-the-editor section - I stopped reading it about a year ago. Our local group does things like: potluck dinners, going to a movie, taking walks, having a “games night” (party at a member’s home with board games), etc. Occasionally we will have events with a speaker but on the whole our activities are not specifically intellectual. We have a variety of political beliefs and religious beliefs (or lack therof). Yes, we have our share of wackos, moreso than the general population. Lots of people that appear to have Asperger’s traits, and a few real nutjobs. But a lot of them are normal folks. I haven’t seen too many snobs. As to the claim that it’s all people in their 50s, it’s partly right. I was 23 when I joined, and the youngest member by 11 years. In fact, the next-youngest was Mr. Ipsum. So, mostly 40s-60s, with a few 30s. In my time as a member I’ve seen many, many younger folks come to events. The problem is, they come to one event, think, “It’s all old geezers” and never come back. If only we could get all the young-uns together at one time, they would see each other and maybe be more interested in coming back. Several years ago I tried to host some events specifically for younger people but only got 1 or 2 people at each one. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/70 "2011-08-19T01:52:12Z")
So is anybody here a member of the Triple Nine Society? I’m sure there are lots of Dopers who qualify. Anybody who is a member of both Mensa **and** the Triple Nine Society? If so, how do they compare? ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/71 "2011-08-19T01:56:42Z")
I know a Mensan who was also a member of Intertel - not a triple 9 society exactly - it’s for the 99th percentile, not 99.9. Anyway, he said that because there was not a critical mass of people to form local groups, they communicated by newsletter (this was pre-internet), which mainly consisted of people arguing with each other. He dropped out because he didn’t see the point. I imagine that the Triple Nine Society, and I.S.P.E. (another organization with the same requirement) would probably be similar. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/72 "2011-08-19T12:30:48Z")
I have been a member of Intertel, but dropped out because they don’t do a damned thing. Their newsletter comes out every other month, and there is an online chat group and, as **LaurenIpsum** speculates, all it is is argument, mostly political. Bitch, bitch, bitch. I have looked at a couple of the other groups’ web sites and saw nothing there that would tempt me to join. As I said in Post #65, I don’t belong to Mensa to impress people; I joined mostly for the reasons **Gary “Wombat” Robson** stated: > [@](#): > > I think the biggest deal is that some people have to spend their days with idiots and they’d like a chance to relax after work and converse with people who aren’t idiots. The Triple Nine Society and I.S.P.E. don’t offer that. Triple Nine Society’s web site says they have a chat group and a newsletter (and Wikipedia says they have about 980 members in 30 countries). What are the odds I’ll find a member to go to a movie with me Saturday night? I do like that their web site has a link to a site containing “Lyrics for the Top 40 Hits of 1930-1999, and many others.” ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/73 "2011-08-19T17:01:32Z")
Regarding the probability of being able to join Mensa aside, it’s not as simple as 2 percent. 2 percent is the cutoff for any one test, but there are multiple tests accepted, and you can take a test more than once. You only need to make the cut one time. It wouldn’t surprise me if three or four percent of the population would reasonably be eligible to join after taking a few tests a few times. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/74 "2011-08-19T20:31:58Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Regarding the probability of being able to join Mensa aside, it’s not as simple as 2 percent. 2 percent is the cutoff for any one test, but there are multiple tests accepted, and you can take a test more than once. You only need to make the cut one time. It wouldn’t surprise me if three or four percent of the population would reasonably be eligible to join after taking a few tests a few times. Yes, you can take multiple tests, but you **cannot** take the same test more than once. The standard Mensa Admissions Test that we give (I’m a proctor) consists of 2 tests - getting in the top 2% on either one will qualify. There is also a “Culture Fair” test option that we offer for those who do not speak English as a first language - or people can choose to take that if they don’t get accepted through the standard test. The Culture-Fair test consists of 3 tests, and getting an acceptable score on any of them will qualify. Or you could submit prior evidence as previously mentioned. So you can take several tests, but unless you manage to use someone else’s identity, you can only take each particular test once. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/75 "2011-08-19T22:30:21Z")
I qualify based on an IQ test that was administered when I was about 11 or 12, but I don’t have the records of that. Or my SAT scores, but they don’t accept those anymore. I’m not willing to pay for another test and then pay dues, because I already have smart friends to hang out with (many of whom are in MENSA) so I guess I’m lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/76 "2011-08-22T02:46:40Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I scored above the 99.9th percentile on a state administered test in the 3rd grade. This would’ve been around 1990. Would they accept that? I won my sixth-grade spelling bee in PS 101 in 1968, and then competed in the school district level.\* Would that count? Plus my father always called me a smart cookie. \*Where I lost on the word “usury,” which really is hard to spell and I doubt _any_ of the contestants had ever heard, let alone understood the concept. But they gave the word only to _me_…Do you smell something fishy?..the only answer: Fucking ant-Semites. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/77 "2011-08-22T21:06:47Z")
> [@LaurenIpsum](#): > > Yes, you can take multiple tests, but you **cannot** take the same test more than once. I originally had a disclaimer in there about that part, but then I thought about how they used to accept SATs, and that test can be taken more than once. Or did SAT always send all results, and Mensa only accepts the first one? Similarly, what about other tests not directly administered by Mensa, but which they accept? ---
**Author:** ![BryanEzzell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@BryanEzzell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BryanEzzell)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/78 "2014-04-16T00:48:55Z")
> [@heavyarms553](#): > > So, I have some free time and the idea of joining Mensa just popped into my head for no particular reason. It has been a long time since I’ve had my IQ formally tested, but I recall it being somewhere around 140. Is there a way (preferably free) that I can test it myself at home to see if taking the Mensa application test would be worth my time? Also, if my IQ really is 140, what is the probability that I’ll get a score high enough to be admitted? > > On a related note, are there any Mensa members here? If so, what was the test like? 🙂 > > Edit: Whoops, meant to put this in GQ, can a mod please move this? The division of worldwide Mensa membership into the global population produces odds which are 1:67,272.7273 that any one person will be a Mensan. The term ‘top two percent’ clarifies that two of 100 people are accepted. This is however heavily influenced by the fact that only people who are pretty smart to begin with try to take these tests, since the real ones are not free and are of no cash value. So, the odds are 2:100 of people who’ think they are smart enough’ to take the test, will pass it. Statistically it is 1:67,000+ however. I am a Mensan. Previous comments about stuffy eggheads is not quite accurate. Mensans where I live in Southern California host all sorts of musical events, beer and wine tasting parties and even knitting circles. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/79 "2014-04-16T01:11:40Z")
Hi Bryan, welcome to the SDMB. You’ve replied to a thread started back in 2010 with the last post before yours from 8-22-2011. These are called ZOMBIE threads that come back to life when viewed through Google searches and someone new replies. So far, the powers haven’t or can’t indicate if a thread is a zombie in the listing. Welcome again, lots to see, read, argue about here. Some very smart folks as well. ---
**Author:** ![BryanEzzell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@BryanEzzell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BryanEzzell)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338/80 "2014-04-16T01:56:22Z")
I responded because there was no correct answer in the results I saw. Nice site. Awesome domain name. I’m a web guy myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-probability-that-id-get-into-mensa/552338.md?page=5)