<p>I think it’s a very good idea to have this requirement. My D HS requires every freshmen to take a swim test. If you can’t swim, they will place you in a mandatory swimming class so you can learn this potentially life saving skill. My nephew did. in the same HS.</p>
<p>I agree that being able to swim can be somewhat of a mark of privilege. I don’t live in a bad area per se, but the only bodies of water that were accessible to me as a kid were the local swimming pool, which was at most 4 feet deep at the deepest portion, and my bathtub. The only pools that were deeper had to be driven to (YMCA, some parks) and my family never had a car so we could not go. My parents could also not afford swimming lessons.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I’d be able to graduate from a school that required such a test. I am a complete non-floater, and several people have attempted to teach me, but to no avail. In high school, I got remedial swim lessons in the shallow end while the rest of the class did kayaking, but at best I can still only doggy paddle, and poorly, so I’m exhausted in less than two minutes. </p>
<p>I do understand why learning to swim is important. I just never had the opportunity growing up and by the time I had some semblance of a chance (that is, about 5 classes in the pool once a year in high school) it just didn’t take.</p>
<p>Check out the swimming requirements for the Naval Academy, particularly the 10m tower jump and the fully clothed swims. Everything else pales in comparison. [United</a> States Naval Academy | Professional Education](<a href=“http://www.usna.edu/admissions/pephysical.htm]United”>http://www.usna.edu/admissions/pephysical.htm)</p>
<p>I had to take a swim test in college. It was in about 6 ft. of water. We had to do two laps, then stay in the water the rest of 15 min. without touching the side of the pool. The two swimmers who looked to be the most able (dove in, then did freestyle laps) didn’t pass; one tired out and stopped, while the other had to be rescued. The rest of us, including those who jumped in, dog paddled across the pool, then tread water and/or floated, passed. That’s when I learned that the result matters more than the method!</p>
<p>Those who didn’t pass or didn’t take the test were required to take swimming as a P.E. As I understand it, the swim test requirement has been eliminated.</p>
<p>I went to Notre Dame, where we had a swim test requirement (2 lengths of the pool on your front, then 2 lengths on your back). I actually didn’t have to take it because I was lifeguard certified. My junior and senior year I worked as a lifeguard on campus and got to guard the swim tests! That was an experience. I didn’t have to actually rescue anyone, but there were some nervewracking moments. I think swimming is an essential safety skill to have so I’m glad they still require it. If you know you can’t swim, you aren’t forced to test - you can opt out and just directly sign up for the swim class instead.</p>
<p>D’s high school has a mandatory swim test for all freshman as well. She is a good swimmer but was out of practice for swimming (she was trainig for field hockey). She passed, but that’s abot all.</p>
<p>I swim but can’t float…sink like a stone. My wife can barely doggy paddle.</p>
<p>I have panic attacks if I can’t touch something solid and stable. I wouldn’t even get in the pool because I know I’d drown without going anywhere.</p>
<p>It might be considered a mark of privilege in some areas to know how to swim, but with so many bodies of water in our state, it is more necessary than learning to drive, or attending college. The public school had weekly lessons at the city pool across the street, ( and since the school had fairly high % of students on FRL, the parent group subsidized lessons for families that couldn’t afford the small fee).</p>
<p>My older daughters school has a PE requirement for graduation. While it has strong academics, they feel students are more productive if they behave as if their bodies exist for more than carrying their head around! ;)</p>
<p>Many kids don’t have the opportunity to learn to swim before college. All the more reason to require that they do learn in college. It’s a lot easier to learn when you are little, that’s for sure, but adults can be taught.</p>
<p>When I went to high school, the high school had a swimming requirement. It was not particularly rigorous (basically, can you avoid drowning in the pool and swim across the pool?), but students who did not pass had to take beginning swimming as their PE (PE was required for the first two or three years, but student had a choice of sports or activities every half-semester, except that non-swimmers had to take beginning swimming).</p>
<p>Regarding floating in the water, better floating ability is one of the few advantages of having higher body fat. Very lean people tend to have to actively tread water or swim in order to float.</p>
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<p>That makes sense, but I think there are other factors at play such as body position and lankiness. Of our children, the best floater (can float ten minutes straight without moving) is the one who has the least body fat. She is tall and thin with long arms and legs. Maybe being able to spread out like a water spider is helpful!</p>
<p>^ it definitely is. It took hanging out in a (deep, large) quarry a lot for me to realize that it is MUCH more efficient and easy to float when I put my arms straight out above my head. Legs bob right out of the water and it’s nearly effortless to float for long periods of time.</p>
<p>Daughter’s school is on a peninsula, they let students borrow sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards and fishing gear. You are not allowed to borrow any of this unless you have passed a swim test in open water.</p>
<p>We live in a port town on Long Island Sound. The elementary school has a swimming pool and everyone is required to swim. I am sure there are modifications for disabilities, whether they are physical or emotional.</p>
<p>D’s college does have a swim test. (Haha. One reason she preferred Barnard to Columbia.)</p>
<p>S’s does. Wiliams made them take their swim test during orientation. S took the math placement and the swim test on the same day before classes started. It was the first test at Williams he passed! (Just kidding.)</p>
<p>I think it’s an arcane requirement too.</p>
<p>I have been told that the story of the person who drowned is an urban myth, but maybe it’s not.</p>
<p>Evewrybody should be able to swim, college or not, do not put yourself in danger. Skill is not that hard to obtain, no talent is needed, many learn on their own (including me).</p>
<p>My D’s school Cornell, is located near a large lake and surrounded by gorges. I’m not sure if that factors into their decision to require the test. She took the test during orientation week in order to graduate and like another poster was more concerned about what bathing suit to wear. True to her competitive spirit, she wanted to beat everyone taking the test at the same time as her!</p>
<p>It’s hard to get through elementary school without learning to swim in Southern California.
Swimming pools are in every community, and in some communities, in every backyard. Many public middle and high schools have swimming units in P.E. every year, and have since I was a kid. And it’s not just in the affluent areas. </p>
<p>And then, we have the ocean, too. The affluent kids join Junior Guards in the summers, starting in the 6th grade, where they meet at the beach five mornings a week and swim in the ocean. We have some pretty competitive high school swim teams as a result.
Yet, I don’t know of any California colleges that require a swim test for graduation.</p>
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<p>It’s not. In 1973, Gerald Penny, an African-American freshman, drowned during the swim test at Amherst College.</p>
<p>Dartmouth requires a swim test in order to graduate. As others mentioned, if you cannot swim, you take a swim class for which you get PE credit. My D who knows how to swim did her swim test the last available day senior year.</p>