The Complete Guide to Mensa IQ Testing

IQ test or Intellect Quotient test is your ultimate brain challenge.

Many people wonder about their IQ level at least once in their lives. Not many actually find the time, energy, and courage to take such tests. 

Mensa IQ is one of the biggest and important IQ qualifiers. What is Mensa and how to enter the society of the smartest people? Here in this article.

These games for the brain can help train your intellect. A great choice for those who want to increase their IQ.

What Is Mensa IQ Test

This IQ test is governed by Mensa International, a high-IQ society. It’s based in Norway, and sometimes people call it the Mensa Norway IQ test.

What is the purpose of the Mensa International IQ test? To determine the quality of the intellect among the smartest people. This exclusivity is tempting for many, and they do their best to qualify.

If you want to know more about how Mensa differs from most IQ tests, look at the table below.

Mensa Eligibility

Compared to most IQ qualifiers, Mensa’s entry is a bit complicated. Here’s how it goes:

• Find a local Mensa organization to schedule the time and location.

• Take the test on the chosen day and location.

• Join the Mensa society, as long as you have enough points. Hooray!

What score should you reach to win an audience with the Mensa society? 

Your evaluation results should be at the 2% top range (in other words, score above 98% of participants).

If your score is lower than these 2%, Mensa Membership is closed for you. It’s the only qualification for initial membership eligibility.

As for the evaluation, you can either pass it with Mensa or submit a qualifying score from another approved testing.

Is Mensa IQ Test Free?

Unfortunately, no. You won’t find a free Mensa IQ test, unless it's from fraudsters. These bad people like to claim that they have free online versions, but it’s impossible.

According to the official website, the cost of testing is £35 (or 47$). You give away this sum for a supervised IQ evaluation. 

While there’s no free official testing, they offer one free option. Mensa IQ Challenge. It assesses general cognitive abilities, represented by an IQ score of between 85 and 145. This evaluation consists of 35 puzzles, and you must solve them in a 25-minute time limit.

IQ Challenge is not for professional use. It’s for entertainment only, and even with the perfect score, it won't qualify you for the high-iq society.

To sum up, you can't have a free IQ test Mensa, but they have a free testing for entertainment purposes.

Is Mensa IQ Test Online?

Unfortunately, it’s offline practice only. You can't have a Mensa online IQ test because the organization prides itself on officiality and exclusivity. To make sure that all eligible participants were evaluated correctly and did not cheat, the process is supervised.

You can try official testing on the UK territories. Mainly London and its parts:

• London

• Central

• North East

• South West

• East Anglia

• Ireland

• East Midlands

• North West

• Wales

• Scotland

• South East

• West Midlands

If you live in other areas, the platform offers various evaluation sites. For example, the US allows local group testing and private testing in almost any state. Again, you’ll have to pay for them. There’s no Mensa Free IQ test.

To sum up, you can’t take an online IQ test Mensa. The official variant is offline-only.

Is the Mensa IQ Test Accurate?

No IQ qualifier is absolute, but Mensa provides a reliable measure of cognitive abilities.

Considering that a lot of work comes into administering examination sessions, high supervision, and precise questions, Mensa is quite accurate.

What is not exactly accurate is online applications like the Online Challenge. The Challenge version is for entertainment and only gives very approximate results. The official website states that information.

IQ Question Numbers

You might wonder, how many questions in Mensa IQ test are there?

From year to year, the number of questions differs, but mostly stays within 34-36 questions. You need to answer these questions in 25-30 minutes (time also differs).

The Mensa IQ test questions are divided into various sections. Their numbers also differ, but there are at least two main sections. Number and shape sections.

Logical Number Section

You need to input a number in the list within the logic. Here’s an example from the sample questions:

What number continues the sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16, …?

1. 34

2. 42

3. 64

Answer: c) 64

Logical Shape Section

This section usually starts soon after numbers and takes up most of the evaluation. You’ll have to look at a combination of various shapes and continue it according to the analogy.

In the example above, it seems that the square moves clockwise from one image to another. So the answer here could be “D”.

Mensa IQ Practice Test

You'd probably want to have a little demo before having a real deal. Especially if you've never passed an authentic IQ evaluation.

The platform offers various training opportunities, some paid and some free. 

• Mensa IQ Challenge. Official, made by the platform. You must solve 35 puzzles within 25 minutes. The puzzles get progressively more difficult. The testing comes in four age groups (16-17, 18-50, 51-60, 61+). Completely free. 

• Mensa Workout IQ Test. A set of random logic-based tasks. This workout takes 15 minutes. After you finish, you don’t get an IQ score. The purpose is to warm-up and get a vague understanding of how well you would do at an IQ testing. Completely free.

• Mensa Home. Like previous choices, it’s also online. It’s 45 minutes long. You can send the results to Mensa’s email, and they will answer with an indicative score. This feedback will give you a good understanding of how you might do on the full test. The Mensa Home is not free. It costs £15 (about $20).  

• Mensa IQ Test Practice. It’s similar to Home Version in that it’s online, and you must pay for it. The difference is that Practice is shorter (30 minutes long). Practice tests differ from country to country. The US allows you to buy a practice version. Like others, this practice doesn’t qualify you for the special society.

To sum up, you have many Mensa practice IQ test opportunities. Some are free, but all of them can only give you an understanding of your score. Not to make you eligible. They also come without Mensa IQ test answers. 

Mensa Membership

Most people pass this testing not just to see their IQ score.

People pass it to reach the top 2% and become a member of the Mensa Society.

Among high IQ societies, Mensa is the oldest. Mensa was established in 1946, Oxford, England. At the moment, it's composed of 150,000 highly intelligent people. They all live across the globe.

Why would you want to be a part of Mensa? You might consider joining because the Society offers various benefits:

• Community & Networking. Mensa members have casual get-togethers. Both locally and globally. Most of the gatherings are free, paid by the hosting members.

• Exclusive Programs. This includes a travel assistance program, various discounts, support services for students, scholarships, grants & awards. 

• SIGHT Partnership. SIGHT is Mensa’s partner. It allows exclusive traveling. This program works for over 80 countries and covers the cost of your travels (at least partially).

• Intellectual Stimulation. Mensa Members are often invited to conferences, discussions, workshops, and debates. Members who like to have fun also often get invited to escape rooms, IQ puzzles, quizzes, and chess tournaments.

• Exclusive Competitions. Mensa members also have a chance to participate in exclusive competitions. For example, the Mensa International PhotoCup.This competition is practically a tradition, more than 20 years old. It's a competition for the perfect photo. What's the formula for the greatest photo? I'm not a Mensa member, but one of their smart folks should know. 

Hopefully, now you understand how many possibilities come with IQ test Mensa Norway.

How to Prepare for IQ Testing

Remember the three main staples when preparing for a big testing.

• Daily practice is the key. It’s better to study every day for 15 minutes than to study one day for 12 hours.

• No overworking yourself. Sleep and relax when you're tired. An overworked mind is a weak mind.

• Have proper nutrition. The brain is your main tool, and it needs a lot of energy.

Now let's see how to prepare yourself for the testing.

Use Practice Variants

Most platforms allow you to browse demo versions and take old examples. Mensa workout IQ test gives you different options, like IQ Challenge, Home Version, etc.

What IQ test does Mensa use? While it’s a bit different from most competitors, you can still prepare by solving free variants from other platforms.

Read More

Reading is good for you, and by reading 15-30 minutes a day, you improve your cognitive skills in general.

Be Physically Active

Don't just sit around all day. Practicing and reading are good for you, but not all geniuses are bookworms.

A little stroll gets your blood going and releases endorphins, happiness hormones. You might lose 30 minutes of studying with a walk, but this walk will let you study more efficiently.

Plus, you'd want to stretch your legs after sitting so much.

Relax the Day Before the Final

Let's imagine that you practiced almost every day. Now it's the last day before a big testing. Tomorrow you'll give your all. 

You need to save more energy to spend more energy tomorrow. So, for this last day, leave the books and do what you want. Have a walk, eat well, talk with friends, or play games. As for them…

Play Mental Games

How to study in a fun way? Through games, of course. Mental games can help improve your memory, think faster, and develop your logical skills. Well, everything you need for a good IQ.

There's one app that has a good choice of brain games.

Mind Elevate

The Mind Elevate is a mobile app filled to the brim with brain-developing games.

At the moment, the app has 35 cognitive games. They’re assorted into categories like:

• Music games

• Memory games

• Math games

• Attention games

• Logic games

• Brain Training games

These games are based on scientific research, so with time and practice, they’ll make you a smarter, better person. And you’ll be having fun playing games instead of boredom.

You can use Mind Elevate with your browser or on your phone (iOS/Android-compatible).