Anyone of any age who scores in the top 2% in an accepted standardized IQ test may join Mensa. The youngest American Mensa member to date was three years old. Youth age 14 or orlder, see the information on the how to join page.
Joining Mensa for Children & Youth (< 14 years old)
Younger children join Mensa by submitting a qualifying score from any one of more than 200 tests that Mensa accepts as prior evidence. To find out if a test is acceptable, call 1-800-66-MENSA (63672).
To have your child who is under 14 tested, go to either a licensed psychologist who administers recognized individual IQ tests such as the Stanford-Binet 5 or WISC-IV, or to a specialist in gifted children credentialed for such evaluations. If they are not well-versed in test interpretation for gifted children, go to any of several Web sites, including Davidson Institute, Hoagie’s Gifted Education and Educational Options to learn what the scores indicate. Scores in the 98th percentile or higher qualify a child for Mensa. Most schools administer achievement batteries every other year. These normally include an embedded ability test, usually the Otis-Lennon or the CogAT (Cognitive Ability Test).
Resources
These items provide a cornucopia of resources for gifted youth and their parents. Here you will find an extensive site devoted to gifted children in recognition of one of MWW’s goals: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity through scholarships, gifted children’s programs, and other supportive activities.
Whether or not you or your child belong to Mensa, you can both benefit from this section.
Online Study Guides
No matter what year in school, there’s studying to be done, and the Internet can help. Check out this list of some great, mostly free study guides and test preparation sites, and pick up some general tips on how to improve study habits. SparkNotes — Free study guides organized by the classic subjects for high school students. It has a test preparation section for the SAT II, ACT and AP that includes practice tests for each. BookRags — Free study guides in many subjects, specializing in Science, Literature, and History. Each subject leads to an alphabetized list of topics. Most of the…
Read MoreOnline Options
Links to distance/online learning, virtual schools, and scholarship search resources for youth.
Read MoreHomework Resources
All of these homework sites are portals to hundreds of other sites. Many destinations are listed in multiple portals. However, they differ in how they are organized and in how they accommodate children of different ages. Favorites King County Library System may be the best all-around web site with many links organized by subject (e.g., Health & Medicine, Animals, Insects & Birds and How to do Research/Library Skills). If you have a library card, you can use the Live Homework Help and an impressive list of data bases. The National Education Association: On this site you’ll find answers to questions many…
Read MoreGifted Children Resource Center
These pages are devoted to gifted children in recognition of one of MWW’s goals: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity through scholarships, gifted children’s programs, and other supportive activities. Activities and Events Activities and events for Gifted Children are open to all children, not just Mensans. So, invite your friends. Everyone will need either a parent/guardian with them or a signed permission and release form. Please check the calendar or the ToteMs newsletter for details about activities and events. In addition to the information on our website, you can find general information relevant to gifted…
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