<p>Would being a member of Mensa help out at all for admissions? Or is it even worth mentioning?</p>
<p>Mensa is a useless organization whose soul purpose is to make its members feel good about themselves. (Really, Mensa has never, ever done anything useful for humanity.) But it's quite impressive being a member, so just throw it in as aside or something (like, list all your other accomplishments and throw in the Mensa membership somewhere in the middle of the list, so that it looks you aren't making a big deal out of it.)</p>
<p>All it really says is that you have a high IQ, which has had repeatedly inconsistent evidence as to its effectiveness in predicting post-academic success.
If you have had active involement in any way, I would suggest mentioning it, but ONLY if you've been involved in significant ways (perhaps discussion, etc.--I'm not a member, although I qualify :-), so I'm not really sure how involved you can get).
The only concern I <em>might</em> have with mentioning it (especially if you're not particularly involved--which might offset any negative thoughts they could have) would be that mentioning it might cause people on the selection committee to think of you as someone who is very intelligent but likely unapproachable and/or difficult to work with because you realize your intelligence. If they had that perception of you, it's possible your MENSA membership could actually be detrimental!</p>
<p>I am an admissions counselor (and past member of Mensa). SAT scores will tell a counselor the same thing as a Mensa membership, since admission to Mensa is via test scores, so the information is actually just repetitive. Presenting good SAT scores demonstrates intellectual ability in the accepted manner within the context of college admissions. Adding Mensa may appear as intellectual snobbery to some admission counselors, since it is not the norm for expressing intellectual ability in the college admissions process. Given that you are adding info which is repetitive at the risk of a negative response to the organization, it is more risky than advantageous to include this information.</p>
<p>lol mensa is for noobs, 98% isn’t even that amazing.</p>
<p>No, it would not help. All belonging to Mensa says is that you meet their criteria for membership. Colleges are far more interested in what you do with your intelligence than how smart you are. The very top colleges, which are the relatively few colleges that consider things like ECs as part of admission factors, wouldn’t be impressed by Mensa anyway because probably the overwhelming majority of their applicants would qualify for Mensa.</p>
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<p>Spot on advice.</p>
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Doubt it.</p>
<p>I don’t doubt that most applicants to places like Harvard would qualify for Mensa. There are lots of very smart people who are in the top 2% of the population in terms of intelligence. Also, the dean of admissions at Harvard has said that most applicants qualify for admission in terms of their scores and grades. That indicates they are very bright.</p>
<p>I doubt that would help because one of the qualifying tests for Mensa is the SAT, so being in Mensa could be the equivalent of saying you have a high SAT score.</p>
<p>Don’t discuss your gifts. Instead, discuss your accomplishments.</p>
<p>Two year old thread…</p>
<p>actually, Mensa no longer accepts SAT scores as a determining factor for qualification, simply because the SAT is no longer what it used to be: a reasoning test. Most of the SAT is 8th grade material, easily manipulated through rote. Intelligence, at least according to Mensa, is something a little more innate, though they do have general knowledge questions, than the material on teh SATs.
I’m not sure why you think being in the top 2% of the world is noobish, it’s not the same as being in the top 2% on the SATs, which is not hard to get btw.
I think that if Mensa has influenced your life in any way, be it through the sub-groups or information lectures, then include it. I don’t know why everyone has a poor perception of Mensa; most of the time, the group is great for developing special interests and hobbies, along with learning from one another.
Plus, their puzzles rock!</p>
<p>If i were you i really wouldn’t mention it. I mean it is something to be proud of but it will come of as SNOB as soon as they see it. </p>
<p>If anything your grades should prove how smart you are.</p>
<p>Someone who believes being in the top 98% of intelligence in the world (assuming the instruments and the concept of IQ are valid in the first place) “isn’t even that amazing” is obviously not very familiar with the concepts of statistics and probability.</p>
<p>That said, since attendees at the top colleges are generally scoring in the top 10 percentiles of the SAT and boast impressive other statistics, I’m going to wager that a lot of them are probably in Mensa, or eligible for it. The only thing that distinguishes you is that you were tested and joined.</p>
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<p>I think you meant to write that as “at or above the 98th percentile” but were rushed in posting. Anyway, why I don’t think the Mensa level of IQ is amazing is that I can do the math to see that one of out of every fifty people on the planet will qualify. (Actually, more will qualify, because applicants can submit scores from any one of a smorgasbord of tests, and only have to clear the bar once.) I don’t consider a person who is one out of fifty amazing. I consider a person who is a state champion, or who is a national champion, amazing. Maybe that’s me, or maybe most people use the term “amazing” that way.</p>
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<p>I think you meant to write that as “at or above the 98th percentile” but were rushed in posting. Anyway, why I don’t think the Mensa level of IQ is amazing is that I can do the math to see that one of out of every fifty people on the planet will qualify. (Actually, more will qualify, because applicants can submit scores from any one of a smorgasbord of tests, and only have to clear the bar once.) I don’t consider a person who is one out of fifty amazing. I consider a person who is a state champion, or who is a national champion, amazing. Maybe that’s me, or maybe most people use the term “amazing” that way.</p>
<p>Old thread, now closed. There are many threads on the issue asked about by the OP.</p>