Our recommendations for preparing effectively for the Mensa Challenge.

First review this previous post to understand the Mensa requirements.

Getting into Mensa is NOT EASY. You have to be at or above the 98th percentile in IQ level. However, even if you are not currently at that level, there is a lot you can do to prepare for Mensa to increase your IQ score.

Intelligence comes in two forms: fluid and crystallized. Fluid intelligence is your reasoning and analytic ability for unfamiliar problems. It is measured by Matrix problems – see previous post – Matrix IQ brain teasers. Crystallized intelligence is what you know from your education and culture – your general knowledge, arithmetic ability, language ability and vocabulary.

Mensa accepts a score in the 98th percentile from IQ tests that measure ONLY fluid intelligence (e.g. Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices), or measure an even MIX of fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence (e.g. Mensa’s own Mensa Admission Test Battery, as well as other well-known IQ tests such as the WAIS-IV).

Knowing this, you have to make a decision: which kind of test to take?  To decide this, you need to know what your strengths are.

To find out your current fluid intelligence IQ, take either of these two fluid intelligence (Matrices) tests (link: free standardized IQ tests). If you are within 15 points of 130 (Mensa standard) then you have a reasonable chance of meeting the grade for Mensa with some fluid intelligence training.

To find out what your combined fluid and crystallized intelligence IQ level is, take the following online test. It is $10, but this is very good value for money, since it gives an accurate ‘clinical standard’ assessment of IQ. This test is similar to the Mensa Admission Test battery. If you are within 15 points of a score of 130, then you have a good chance of meeting the grade for Mensa with some combined fluid and crystallized training.

_______________________________________________________

The GIQ test

An excellent combined fluid and crystallized IQ test, equivalent to some of the better known clinical IQ tests. According to the test-makers:

The GIQ Test is an online analog for the most common clinically proctored IQ tests. In our internal study, the GIQTest correlated within about 4% of an individual’s full scale score on a clinically proctored IQ test. The GIQTest’s sections are modeled after clinical IQ test sections.

Each subtest measures different cognitive abilities such as non-verbal reasoning, vocabulary and recall, that together make up a profile of general intelligence or ‘G’.  This is a combined crystallized and fluid intelligence test. It does not provide a measure of each with dedicated subtests, although you can see the relative loadings of different subtests on fluid intelligence in the table provided by the test-makers below.
.

.

• Time required: 25-45 minutes estimated. No time limit.
• Components of intelligence measured: full scale intelligence, ‘verbal’ intelligence and ‘performance’ intelligence. Your performance sub-score on this test can substitute as a measure of your fluid intelligence.
• Culture fair IQ test? Vocabulary, similarities and arithmetic subtests are education- dependent.
• Repeat testing: No
• Separate measures of different IQ abilities? Yes – for an example  click here.
• Fee: $10
• Test creators: Wendlink, Inc product

_______________________________________________________

Now that you know what your IQ level is for both fluid and combined fluid/crystallized intelligence you can decide what kind of training and what kind of test you want to take for Mensa.

Fluid Intelligence Strategy

1. Schedule a month in advance a Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) IQ test with a local psychologist. Tell the psychologist (and you will have to look in the telephone directory or Internet to find them), that you want a test for fluid intelligence, not crystallized intelligence.

2. Train with High IQ Pro® – this improves your fluid intelligence by over 40% by one laboratory measure. It works.

3. While in mid-training with High IQ Pro® , practice Matrix problems. You can find more problems here or here or here. The more sources you find the better. We suggest doing the problems immediately after your High IQ Pro® training session. You may get additional benefits by attempting hard Matrix problems before going to sleep. Dreaming has been proven to help you figure out these kinds of problems! This kind of ‘learning while you sleep’ may also benefit your IQ test performance. Also, while practicing with these questions, try to figure out the kinds of rules that keep turning up. There are only a handful of them, some of which I have described in a previous post.

4. While practicing with Matrix problems, get used to doing them under timed conditions, and develop effective techniques for skipping hard problems and then returning to them to be efficient with your time.

5. Do a final 10 block High IQ Pro® session just prior to taking your IQ test if you can (it’s not essential).

Combined fluid and crystallized intelligence strategy

1. Schedule a month in advance a Mensa Admission Test with your local Mensa organisation.

2. Train with High IQ Pro®. This will substantially improve the fluid intelligence component of the test.

3. While in mid-training with High IQ Pro® , practice Matrix problems. You can find more problems here or here or here. The more sources you find the better. We suggest doing the problems immediately after your High IQ Pro® training session. You may get additional benefits by attempting hard Matrix problems before going to sleep. Dreaming has been proven to help you figure out these kinds of problems! This kind of ‘learning while you sleep’ may also benefit your IQ test performance. Also, while practicing with these questions, try to figure out the kinds of rules that keep turning up. There are only a handful of them, some of which I have described in a previous post.

4. While in mid-training with High IQ Pro® , practice taking 10 minute International High IQ Society eCMA IQ tests. They are different every time, they are free and you can take as many as you want. You could do one every 2 or 3 days of training.  This practice will benefit your combined fluid and crystallized intelligence performance when you come to taking the Mensa test. A link to this test – with details – is given below. In addition, you may also want to locate free IQ tests on the Internet – there are many of them.

5. While practicing IQ test questions, get used to doing them under timed conditions, and develop effective techniques for skipping hard problems and then returning to them to be efficient with your time.

6. Take the Mensa home test – this will give you a very good idea of the format of the final test.

7. Do a final 10 block High IQ Pro® session just prior to taking your IQ test if you can (it’s not essential).

______________________________________________________________

International High IQ Society eCMA IQ test

This is a 36 question, timed IQ test with six subtests: analogies, math, factual knowledge, memory, sequential reasoning, analogical reasoning.

It gives a combined crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence score.

• Time required: 10 minutes limit
• Components of intelligence measured: fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence
• Culture fair IQ test? No – general knowledge subtest and arithmetic are education-specific
• Repeat testing? Yes.
• Fee: No charge
• Test creators: International High IQ Society. If you score above 124, you qualify for membership.
• Proviso: This is the least reliable of these IQ tests – scores can vary from one test to another.

Related posts:

1. Mensa & High IQ Societies
2. Matrices Problems In Mensa’s IQ tests
3. More Mensa Training Exercises
4. A Mensa Primer: Get Into Mensa