<p>Yes that's your opinion but your advice is just plain bad. Given that you yourself mention that adcoms will at best view putting mensa on your application as neutral, wouldn't you expect that you only have something to lose and nothing to gain by putting it on there? Use some logic, please!</p>
<p>I hate to pull the american card but you don't really understand US colleges if you think something like qualifying for mensa is viewed as an achievement. You might as well say "born into a rich family" is an achievement as well.</p>
<p>I'm mentioning under the optional additional info.. and i dunno about the US but it's tough to get into Mensa here, that's the reason.
Btw most colleges view u in a different light if you're rich - i hope u know that LOL
donations, no financial aid etc.
Anyway this topic is done with. I just said that i'm mentioning it as a point in additional info.</p>
<p>I think what the O.P. was asking was not whether his Mensa membership should be listed on his college app or not -but would his mediocre grades along with his Mensa membership suggest he was a student who COULD do better, but didn't.</p>
<p>I think colleges are probably used to seeing it mentioned by international applicants and not so much by US applicants. I don't think it does much to help/hurt. I'm sure a lot of people mention if they were on the high honor roll at their school - probably equally unimportant info. So just do what you want to do, and don't obsess one way or the other.</p>
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mr. north carolina , I'm a non-native english speaker. the entire world doesn't speak your royal language.
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<p>There's that high IQ of yours acting up. I realize you are a non-native speaker of English, but you used "words" such as "dunno", "Btw", "u", "i", "LOL" in a fairly non-casual forum. That's not very consistent with high-IQ individuals. </p>
<p>Onwards to the point of this thread, however -</p>
<p>gthopeful really hit the nail on the head with this:</p>
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I hate to pull the American card but you don't really understand US colleges if you think something like qualifying for mensa is viewed as an achievement.
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<p>American colleges are interested in how much you have achieved based on your hard work and effort. That's the American Dream we idealize and have built this great country upon.</p>
<p>Agreed with Sligh Anarchist, gthopeful and Baelor.</p>
<p>So you paid money to take one test (the validity of which many dispute) and got membership in an organization to show for it? I honestly don't see why you'd put it down, it is by no means an "achievement".</p>
<p>Mensa should NOT add anything new to your application. If you're getting into an elite college, they can probably infer that you're very intelligent from GPA, SAT's, and general achievements. And if not, then you probably won't get in either way and just look like a slacker with a bad attitude. This is only for elite colleges though, the game changes once you're not talking top 20 colleges/universities. </p>
<p>IMO joining Mensa just means you're insecure. Why would you pay someone to tell you about yourself?</p>
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There's that high IQ of yours acting up. I realize you are a non-native speaker of English, but you used "words" such as "dunno", "Btw", "u", "i", "LOL" in a fairly non-casual forum. That's not very consistent with high-IQ individuals.
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I do this all the time on internet threads and I'm not stupid either</p>
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I think colleges are probably used to seeing it mentioned by international applicants and not so much by US applicants. I don't think it does much to help/hurt.
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<p>You should recognize this as fallacious reasoning that just because everyone else does it that it's ok or acceptable. When applying you are forced to view your application through an american lens because it's americans who will be reviewing your app most likely, and we are telling you how mensa is viewed here. Mensa in most peoples' minds is stuffy academic types sitting around mentally ma********** to the newest monthly puzzle. Who wants to accept someone like this? Colleges want people who are smart but aren't hung up on it and will contribute to their community and like to apply their knowledge.</p>