How This Calculator Works

Your meðaleinkunn is a weighted average. Adding a new course does not just add a grade: it adds a grade multiplied by its credit weight. That combined value gets mixed into your existing total and divided by your new credit count.

How Credits Amplify the Impact

The same grade has very different effects depending on the credit weight. A student with 90 credits adds a 6-credit course. That new course represents 6.25% of the new total. But if they add a 30-credit dissertation, it represents 25% of the new total and moves the average dramatically.

Edge Cases and Real Questions

My new grade equals my current average. What happens?

Nothing changes. If your meðaleinkunn is 7.0 and you earn a 7.0 in the new course, your average stays exactly at 7.0, regardless of how many credits the course carries. This is the breakeven point.

Can a single bad grade in a small elective ruin my average?

Not drastically, if your existing credit base is large. A student with 150 credits who earns a 3.0 in a 3-credit elective sees their average drop by less than 0.08 points if they were averaging 7.0. The more credits you have already earned, the more stable your average becomes against individual poor results.

I am at the start of my degree with only 30 credits. Does each course matter more?

Yes, significantly more. With only 30 credits already earned, a new 6-credit course represents 17% of your total. At 120 credits, that same 6-credit course is only 4.8% of the total. This is why first-year and second-year performance has a compounding effect on meðaleinkunn: early grades are baked in at high weight before you have enough credits to dilute them.

Does this apply if I resit a failed course?

It depends on your institution’s policy. Some Icelandic universities replace the original grade with the resit grade when calculating your meðaleinkunn. Others add the resit as a separate entry. If the resit grade replaces the original, enter your updated average directly. If both grades are included, add the resit as a new course with the same credit weight and see the compounded effect.

I passed a course but I am unhappy with the grade. Should I retake it?

Run the numbers first. Enter your current average, your current credits, and the grade you expect to get on the retake. Check whether the improvement justifies the time cost. If your average is 7.8 and a retake would bring one course from 6.5 to 8.5 on a 4-credit module, the gain is only about 0.08 points. That is a real improvement, but probably not worth a full retake unless you have very few credits and a specific threshold to hit.

Strategic Situations Where This Calculator Matters

Before dropping a course

If you are considering withdrawing from a course, check what grade you expect to receive versus the impact of a withdrawal on your academic record. A W on a transcript is different from a low grade in the meðaleinkunn calculation. In most Icelandic institutions, a formal withdrawal within the deadline does not affect your GPA.

Before registering for a high-credit elective

A 10-credit elective you are not well prepared for carries significant downside risk if your credit base is small. Use this calculator to model a realistic worst-case grade and see whether you can absorb the GPA impact without falling below your target average.

When planning for a scholarship threshold

Most Icelandic merit scholarships require a meðaleinkunn of 7.5 or above. If you are sitting at 7.3 with 90 credits, you need to figure out how many credits of high-grade work you need to close that gap. This calculator gives you the directional answer immediately.

Common Mistakes Students Make

• Thinking a passing grade (5.0) will not affect their average if it is below their current meðaleinkunn
• Underestimating the impact of high-credit courses on early-stage students
• Confusing the grade they received with the grade the course adds to the overall calculation
• Not checking whether their institution uses a replacement or cumulative policy for resits
• Forgetting to include failed courses that are still on their transcript

Frequently Asked Questions

If I get a 5.0 (the minimum pass), will my average always go down?

Only if your current meðaleinkunn is above 5.0. If you are averaging 6.5 and you earn a 5.0 in a new course, yes, your average will fall. If you are averaging 4.8 (below pass), earning a 5.0 would actually raise your average, though you would still have failed courses to resolve.

How do I find my current meðaleinkunn?

Log into your university’s student portal (Mínar síður at most Icelandic institutions). Your transcript or grade summary should show your cumulative weighted average. If it is not shown directly, use the meðaleinkunn calculator on SabiCalculator to compute it from your individual course grades and credits.

Does the order of courses affect my meðaleinkunn?

No. The weighted average formula is commutative: the final result is the same regardless of which order you add courses in. A student who earned a 9.0 in year one and a 6.0 in year two has the same meðaleinkunn as one who earned them in reverse order.

I have an incomplete grade (I). Does it count in my meðaleinkunn?

An incomplete grade is typically excluded from the meðaleinkunn calculation until it is resolved into a final grade. Do not include it in your current totals. Once completed, re-run the calculation with the actual grade received.