Photo courtesy of Sunita Pati
Saanya Verma achieved a perfect score of 162 on the Cattell III B paper given by Mensa.
Saanya Verma, an 11-year-old who lives in London, recently learned that she got a perfect score on one of the hardest intelligence tests in the world. Now she is a member of the elite high IQ society British Mensa, which has 20,000 members, only 1,500 of which are under the age of 18.
"I did not feel that it was hard or easy but just gave my best and had a great experience," Verma said of taking the test.
There are two IQ test papers that qualify you for Mensa: The Cattell III B and the Culture Fair III A. An IQ score in the top 2% on either test will get you into the group.
Verma got the most points possible on both tests. She got a score of 162 on the Cattell IIIB scale and a score of 142 on the Culture Fair scale. That means she is not only in the top 1% of test-takers, but she is also one of the youngest people to achieve this mark.
In a database search, Mensa found only three 10-year-olds who got a score of 162. The Mensa test cannot be taken by anyone who is younger than age 10-and-a-half.
"There may be a few others that I didn't find, but this will give you an indication of how few there are," a spokeswoman told Business Insider.
Photo courtesy of Sunita Pati Verma likes a lot of subjects, including math, English, French, science, and drama.
Verma is currently a year 7 student at an independent school in the northwest London area. When it comes to studying for her regular course work, she has a few tips for success.
"Don't get distracted," Verma tells Business Insider. She also says to "annotate as much as you can."
"Work in in an environment where you are comfortable in your surroundings," Verma says, "so you don't feel panicked and you can focus."
She also has some advice for others who are thinking about the Mensa IQ test.
"You don't need to worry at all," she says. "The test is written in a way that any person can do it, you don't need to have schooling in specific subjects."
As for her own preparation, Verma says she bought some books of Mensa and had a hearty breakfast on the day of the test: Waffles.