-
The 2026-2027 MD School Specific Threads are now live in the School Specific Discussions forum. The 2025-2026 cycle threads can be found here. -
Bring your 2026 application questions to our open office hours with Emil Chuck, PhD, Director of Advising Services for HPSA, and get them answered live. Personal statements, secondaries, interview prep, school list strategy: all fair game. Sunday, May 17 at 9 p.m. Eastern. -
Scholarship Access: Becoming a Student Doctor course
Free access to comprehensive medical school prep. Eligible students include AAMC FAP recipients and HS graduates from underserved areas. Apply today.
Listing MENSA on your med school app?
Started by Ryuichi
The adcoms who have expressed opinions about it have not been positive about it. Most assume that almost every successful applicant is qualified to join the group but only the most insecure do so. Now maybe they have misjudged the membership of the group but this is the attitude you are up against.
Lizzy, I disagree. I don't think every applicant/matriculant has the type of IQ required to be a MENSA. Most people with a college education hover at 115-120.
My brother's a neurosurgeon... some of his colleagues have a 120 IQs, but are very well respected in their field. They aren't MENSA...
Despite the truth in your statement, I think the sentiment remains. I qualify for it based on my IQ tests but why would I want to join some elitist organization whose only purpose is to say "we have high IQs and we know it!"? I just don't get that attitude. Who cares?! Seriously. So I'd think the same thing Lizzy expressed. Listing it on your app is like listing it on your resume. It comes off just plain undesirable (and arrogant).
What does it matter if one's IQ is higher than others'? If an applicants stats aren't up to par, I can't see readers granting him/her leeway because they have a high IQ, and it certainly won't make up for a lack of qualitative extracurricular involvement.
I can't see it helping an applicant unless they have personal involvement/leadership with the organization. Otherwise, I might as well include an official copy of my IQ test results in case I do poorly on the MCAT. 🙄
Also, post 3,000!
Hahahaha, imagine they started accepting IQ scores.
It doesn't matter if ones IQ is higher than another's. It's just another activity.
So it's not a very relevant measure/indicator of potential to succeed in the medical field.
Some elitist IQ holders would argue that it is... then again... people that have high IQs, sometimes are just normal joe shmoes that work at Costco. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Some might say that they are brimming with potential... truth be told... not everyone can go to professional school. Someone needs to deliver the mail, and grow the food you eat. Otherwise... we'd all go hungry. Doctors are important, but the person who drives the food from the farm to your local grocery store is more important if youz a foodie like me.
It says on MENSA's website you qualify with a composite ACT score of 29 or better. It really doesn't seem like it's that hard to qualify, you just have to pay fees to join. I qualify just by ACT score, but I'm not paying some organization just so I can claim I'm smarter than everyone else.
As far as IQ societies go, Mensa is actually nowhere near one of the more selective ones. There are quite a few that have much higher entry standards, but they're obviously smaller due to stringent requirements, and definitely not as publicized.
To the OP, I personally wouldn't list it. It's neat to have a relatively high IQ, but I don't think that number is nearly as important as what you do with it (i.e., high grades, interesting research or projects, etc.)
It could even make you look bad unless you have an amazing academic record complete with great test scores, as people usually expect that students with high IQs will do extraordinarily well in school (whether they should or not). If we're taking the concept of one's IQ as a measure of someone's intelligence - which there are arguments for and against, obviously - if you say you have a high IQ, you're essentially saying you're more intelligent than a certain amount of the population…which I personally think would look bad on a med school application if your accomplishments aren't better than theirs as well.
At any rate, if you have great grades in challenging courses and did interesting things academically during undergrad, then it should be clear to most people that you probably have a decent IQ. And if your IQ IS super high, then I trust you can find plenty of impressive ways to excel. But besides being the threshold to join certain groups (and I would contend that there are probably benefits to those groups), I don't think the exact number itself is that important unless one has something to show for it. It's true that not everyone has a really high IQ - even among doctors and other highly regarded professionals - but I don't think it would be very beneficial to list, and could be a disservice.
Also, I'm not an expert, so if someone with more wisdom on what should and shouldn't be listed disagrees, then I would probably defer to them. These are just my thoughts on the matter. 🙂
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Only major league crazies and insecure egomaniacs actually take real IQ tests.
Considering that they no longer take SAT/ACT/other standardized tests that you might have had a real reason to take, this implies that you took a test for the sole purpose of joining MENSA so that you could list it on things like resumes and applications.
I'm not saying I'm indicative of lots of adcoms, but this is what you'd get from me: 🙄.
I'm not saying I'm indicative of lots of adcoms, but this is what you'd get from me: 🙄.
Weigh the number of people that will be genuinely impressed by you being in mensa compared to those that think its a self-congratulatory club of insecure people. I think the choice is clear.
http://www.mensa.org/prominent-mensans
This is just the saddest, most unimpressive list if that's supposed to be the most successful of a supposedly elitist organisation. I mean come on, you are better off affiliated to most fraternities/sororities.
Not trying to discredit the achievements of those individuals... but... yea.
This is just the saddest, most unimpressive list if that's supposed to be the most successful of a supposedly elitist organisation. I mean come on, you are better off affiliated to most fraternities/sororities.
Not trying to discredit the achievements of those individuals... but... yea.
I like how this guy is disagreeing with Lizzy...
That is only if you took it prior to September 1989.
Currently the SAT and ACT are unacceptable for admission to MENSA. 🙁
Putting MENSA on your app as an "achievement" is stupid. If I were looking at an app with that listed I would look at it pretty negatively. The only reason I would list it is if you did something substantial with the group.
totally put it. I put that I'm in the Cool Kidz Klub.
D
deleted393595
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
And neither does Daniel Jackson 😀
He speaks 26 languages.
If admissions want to know how smart you are in a relevant manner compared to everyone else utilizing a standardized testing method, they need simply check your MCAT. If you have a free space and can't think of how to fill it, but down mensa. Otherwise, it's not really helping you.
Only put it down if you did something significant in the organization.
What do you really do for Mensa? "Take a test" and then send people money?
If you wouldn't put "has a subscription to car and driver/elle/cosmo" on your med school app, then I probably wouldn't put down down Mensa.
What do you really do for Mensa? "Take a test" and then send people money?
If you wouldn't put "has a subscription to car and driver/elle/cosmo" on your med school app, then I probably wouldn't put down down Mensa.
Exactly. Membership in MENSA doesn't really mean much. You can actually study for the tests and score better each time.
Last edited:
I 😍Daniel Jackson. I named my daughter after him...kind of. 😉
Rodney Mckay would add his Mensa score.
D
deleted393595
😍
Probably the best character on SGU since he was brilliant, yet morally ambiguous.
Don't forget Eli too!
It would be inappropriate to list unless you did something significant with the group.
And let's not forget the famous 90s porn star Asia Carrera too!
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Is it wrong that the moment I see "porn" I get an urge to Google?
😍
Probably the best character on SGU since he was brilliant, yet morally ambiguous.
Don't forget Eli too!
Eli is my fav on SGU. I miss that show. 🙁
I used to be in Mensa and I put it on my med school application. No interviewer ever brought it up as a positive or negative. The whole admissions process is about trying to figure out who will be smart enough to get through med school without being unPC and asking for an intelligence test score. Letting the schools know you have high innate intelligence doesn't seem to me like it would be a bad thing.
It would be a bad thing if like Lizzy stated earlier in this thread, it gives off the sign of arrogance or even an inner insecurity. While [I'm sure] there is a some correlation between intellect and high GPA and MCAT, the major structure of who gets into medical school is who is willing to work the hardest and has the perseverance to earn the opportunity to get into medical school.
The problem is only tools seek to have their ego stroked/their "abilities" confirmed in such a ridiculous way.
I wouldn't put it on there. You're already trying to get a degree that less than 1% of people have, so what's so impressive of being in the top 98th percentile of IQ? Save that info for your interview if you want. When I interviewed I was asked the question, "What's something that you have done that is not on your application?" I would play the MENSA card then, but be humble about it and not arrogant.
Good luck on your application process.
It's funny cuz you haven't been to med school yet.....
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
D
deleted393595
It's funny cuz you haven't been to med school yet.....
I thought the interview would have done a good job of weeding out kids like that.
A retired attorney who placed 4th in her law class lmfao
lol at that list
in terms of usefulness to adcoms in evaluating you, Mensa probably lies somewhere between your height and how well-endowed you are
Doesn't this question about MENSA come up ever year about this time?
Honor societies are great to score scholarships with but to get into profession school? Unless it is academically related don't waste the clubs/activities space. If I was on an ADCOM and I saw MENSA on an app I would think wow what a boring person. Could we find some thing else to do beside brag about our intelligence? I think putting down the Klingon Boggle club would be much more interesting.... Hey its going on my app..... maybe
Honor societies are great to score scholarships with but to get into profession school? Unless it is academically related don't waste the clubs/activities space. If I was on an ADCOM and I saw MENSA on an app I would think wow what a boring person. Could we find some thing else to do beside brag about our intelligence? I think putting down the Klingon Boggle club would be much more interesting.... Hey its going on my app..... maybe
Although because there seems to be a relatively high amount of Stargate fans here maybe a Goa'uld boggle club....
D
deleted393595
The problem is that most people in society have too much self esteem and ego without having anything to justify it.
It's funny cuz you haven't been to med school yet.....
You don't need a medical education to know a tool when you see one. Just saying.
Do you even do anything with Mensa? If you've done something with them, you might consider listing it, but if not I don't see why you would. I mean, you're theoretically born with your IQ. It's like listing on your app that you're a member if the People With Three Nipples club. Ok, cool, but what have you done in life that you've actually worked for?
I'm curious which of those two is actually more useful to adcoms than membership in Mensa.
It's so frustrating to me how many people on these boards do not understand that it takes above average intelligence to become a doctor.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
