MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING seniors Miguel Co and Ryan Yu were accepted into Mensa International after passing its entrance examination, which they took on July 19 at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business campus in Makati.

Mensa International is a high intelligence quotient (IQ) society that fosters intellectual exchange between their members through information-exchange lectures, journals, international gatherings and research assistance.

It currently consists of 121,000 members in 100 accredited chapters worldwide, including the Philippines.

In an interview with The GUIDON, Co said he is excited to meet the people in the organization who seem to be diverse and interesting.

He said that he is willing to be an active member in the organization if it means being able to contribute to national productivity.

“I want to do something to make the country better. I’m just happy that perhaps another avenue opened up for me to be able to do so,” he said.

As for Yu, he said he is honored to be part of the organization. “I’m excited to meet the other members and possibly participate in [Mensa’s] future events.”

He said he does not feel a greater responsibility for being accepted into Mensa because his responsibility is something that he shares with all Ateneans: “Becoming a person for others, particularly towards the goal of nation-building.”

“I strongly believe in the brilliance of Ateneans in all kinds of intelligences, and perhaps it would be important to echo the call for all of us to discover what we are good at and how we can come together to achieve this common goal,” Yu added.

Driven

According to management-honors senior Aldrin Chua, Co and Yu are people who have a passion for success.

Chua has known Co and Yu since their freshman year and co-owned the John Gokongwei School of Management Student Enterprise Center stall Top Slice with them.

“I think [Co and Yu] would naturally pass [Mensa] given their academic capabilities,” he declared.

“They are smart people who have plans and a set goal in mind,” Chua added.

Co has been in the first honors dean’s list for five semesters and is currently a candidate for cum laude.

Yu is a Merit Scholar and has been in the first honors dean’s list for six semesters. He is a current candidate for summa cum laude.

To be in the first honors dean’s list, students must have a Quality Point Index (QPI) of at least 3.70 and above in a semester.

To graduate with a cum laude, a student must have a cumulative QPI of 3.50 to 3.69. For a summa cum laude, a student must reach a cumulative QPI of at least 3.87 and above.

The Ateneo Freshman Merit Scholarship is awarded to the top 40 applicants of the Ateneo College Entrance Test. It grants a 100% waiver on tuition and other fees throughout the recipient’s entire stay in the Ateneo.

Getting in

For their application into Mensa, Co and Yu were required to answer a 30-minute, 45-item abstract reasoning test.

A properly administered and supervised IQ test is the only eligibility requirement into Mensa, according to its official website.

Membership is granted for people who attain a score in the upper 2% of the norm.

Once accepted, official members have to pay an annual membership fee of P700.

Presently, Mensa Philippines has approximately 160 members.

Mensa does not issue a list of members or disclose individual IQ scores. Only members can choose to release the said information.