The IQs of Eric and Dylan?

Has it ever been reported what Eric and Dylan's IQs were? If not, is it possible to estimate where they may have been on the scale?

They were both reasonably gifted, judging by academics, but I don't think they were geniuses by any means. Maybe IQs around 120.

Hard to say without actual test results. They both seemed to have been good at math and good at IT stuff, so they would likely do well in "traditional" IQ tests.

Traditional IQ tests feature a lot of math-related questions.


Having said that, they weren't dumb but I don't think they were geniuses of any extraordinary sort either.

I don't know if any tests had been made - I assume they both had a relatively high IQ, maybe between 120 and 130? Above than average, but probably not genial.

can anyone put here a link to do a real iq test , like online ?

The closest would perhaps be the Mensa's Online Workout: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It's not an actual IQ test, but may give you a rough estimataion as to where you are. I scored 14/18.

Anyone know what they scored on their SATs or ACTs? Dylan must have taken them.

Most likely average.

The belief that Eric and Dylan were intellectually gifted is one of the myths of Columbine.

My impression is that Dylan probably had a higher IQ than Eric.  I base that impression on the fact that Dylan's academic record was more impressive than Eric's.  Dylan was in the CHIPS program as a child for gifted students.  IQ at age 8 or so (Dylan's approximate age when he entered the CHIPS program) has a strong correlation with IQ at age 17.   Dylan scored 1210 on the SAT as I recall.  

I've read and heard before that the average prison inmate has an IQ of around 90.  Both Eric & Dylan probably had higher IQs than the average criminal.  Dylan might have been intellectually gifted.  I don't think that there is any reason to think that Eric had a high IQ.  The evidence indicates that Eric designed the cafeteria bombs.  The cafeteria bombs were intended to be the part of the massacre to inflict the most casualties by far, the and they both failed to go off.  Furthermore, there was no chance that the bombs were going to off as Eric planned.  The way that the cafeteria bombs could detonate is to first have a small explosion create a fire, and then the heat from the fire would cause the propane tank to explode. The fire sprinklers would have put out the initial fire. Eric's plan was stupid. This is a further indication to me that Eric did not have an especially high IQ.

I don't think you can necessarily take what he achieved in his senior year as representative of his intellectual capacity given that he was likely suffering from depression, an illness that can not only impair motivation but cognitive performance. I'd be more interested in his ability in former years.

Wasn't Dylan a year younger than his peers?

macks_ant86 wrote:

I don't think you can necessarily take what he achieved in his senior year as representative of his intellectual capacity given that he was likely suffering from depression, an illness that can not only impair motivation but cognitive performance. I'd be more interested in his ability in former years.

Wasn't Dylan a year younger than his peers?

agree.. gpa and class rank don't represent the IQ. Safe to say each were well above average, but neither flirting with an elite category or MENSA.

Guesstimate? 120-129

Fatheroftwo wrote:

neither flirting with an elite category or MENSA.

Guesstimate?  120-129

An IQ of 130 (and above) is considered the highest classification on a number of IQ tests, including the WAIS, which is the most commonly given test in the US. Only about two percent of the population would score higher than 129. You are essentially saying that there is a possibility that the boys' IQs were higher than 98% of the population at the higher end of your guess, and that at the very least, their IQs were higher than 90% or more of the population, if you are going by the most common scale. The higher end of the range would be elite or near-elite level IQ, depending on how you want to define that. Mensa will accept someone with an IQ of 130 on the WAIS so this guess also suggests that their IQs could be near Mensa level.

sscc wrote:

Fatheroftwo wrote:

neither flirting with an elite category or MENSA.

Guesstimate?  120-129

An IQ of 130 (and above) is considered the highest classification on a number of IQ tests, including the WAIS, which is the most commonly given test in the US. Only about two percent of the population would score higher than 129. You are essentially saying that there is a possibility that the boys' IQs were higher than 98% of the population at the higher end of your guess, and that at the very least, their IQs were higher than 90% or more of the population, if you are going by the most common scale. The higher end of the range would be elite or near-elite level IQ, depending on how you want to define that. Mensa will accept someone with an IQ of 130 on the WAIS so this guess also suggests that their IQs could be near Mensa level.

depends on which IQ test you take? depending on the test source the qualifiers for MENSA reach mid to high 140's. Regardless I'd put E&D in the top 10%, not elite but right in the mix of the next tier. CHS is a top notch sample of american students.. Eric & Dylan were above average in that crowd and certainly Dylan would have been top 25% in his class if his emotional quotient wasn't such a disaster.

I'd venture to guess Dylan was the higher of the two without a doubt. Not geniuses, but let's be honest.. the vast percentage of Americans are near absolute morons by comparison.

I'm going to guess what their IQ probably were.


Eric-122-126

Dylan-122-124

Probably slightly higher than average.