Hi,
I will be applying to colleges next year and I was wondering if I should put my membership to an extremely high IQ society (Prometheus Society–corresponds to a 1 in 30,000 IQ or a 164 while MENSA accepts 1 in 50-- also it has its own Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_Society) on my EC’s in my college apps because it’s so exclusive.
Thanks!
Nope
People put ping pong club on their application so why not?
So you took some test and then you are a member for bragging rights? What do you actually DO as a member? I think things like this and MENSA are pompous. It’s not how smart you are but what you DO with those smarts that matters. That’s what you need to show. At least the ping pong club is active and shows engagement in something fun and community oriented. Others may disagree, but that’s my opinion.
Sure, list it if you want. Hopefully you have a lot of other good stuff to include as well.
My son founded a ping-pong club at his school, and did all the fundraising and promotion for it. I think it looked very good on his application, alongside other, more conventional, “leadership” activities.
I agree with @doschicos Smarts can only take you so far, and having a high IQ doesn’t indicate what you have to offer to a school. I think it was Malcolm Gladwell who wrote a book where he analyzed a man whose IQ was higher than Einstein and ended up living out his life in his home. Intelligence is by no means an insurance for success.
No.
Getting into college isn’t about IQ. It’s about what you’ve done with it. And that’s reflected in your grades, stats and ECs.
And FWIW, both colleges and employers would rather accept/hire the average IQ student with great stats, than the other way around.
If you’re heavily involved with this IQ society (volunteering, etc.), the yes, put in on your application. If it’s an organization that’s practically used for bragging rights, then no, don’t put it on your application.
You can put it in, but high IQ won’t impress anybody (it’s well known by educated people that IQ isn’t a great measure of “intelligence,” and, moreover, that “intelligence” isn’t well defined or even well understood). That said, @agc1998 is correct: if you’re heavily involved in the society, then you should include it, because it’s an important activity; if you’re a member because you passed a test but don’t otherwise have much involvement, then it’s inconsequential.
In one of your previous posts, you have mentioned that you are a USAMO qualifier with a 12 AIME score. In my opinion, that sufficiently shows that you are a very intelligent student, and is more recognized by top schools.
I do agree with some of the comments above that college is more than just IQ. If you have other awards that make you seem more diverse, even if they are state or regionally-based, I’d consider them first.
“I am very smart”
Reporting high IQ could be setting u up for higher expectations by the adcomms, like, why haven’t u cured cancer already?
It’s pretentious, and I hope you have something else to put in that EC block.
There’s only 120 members in the world. Seems pretty cool actually. Put it in, but don’t be pretentious about it.
I’d say no, don’t do it.
If u are lower socioeconomic class, then I’d include it. Otherwise, not.
I see no harm in mentioning it.
Where do you plan to put it? As an EC? Its not unless you do participate in meetings, activities, etc. You might possibly be able to weave it into your personal statement, but if so, do so in a clever way. Bragging about something that is in and of itself a bit self-aggrandizing can be off-putting.
I guess the problem w reporting it is that it’s not an achievement. It’s an accident of birth.
Unless u have an actual elite achievement that is commensurate w your elite IQ, then you’ll look like a slacker.