<p>My d is now choosing between Smith and Bryn Mawr, and I’m curious about the PE requirement at Bryn Mawr. Perhaps I’m reading the requirements wrong, but 8 units in PE sounds like a lot. That is 1/4 of all units required for graduation. Is each course one unit? A required 2 unit course in Wellness the first semester leaves room for only 2 more courses. Any information would be appreciated, thanks.</p>
<p>PE units don’t count for academic credit. We take PE classes on top of 4-5 academic classes. 8 PE units = 8 quarters of PE classes. For most students that reduces to 5 because we can get 1 PE credit for passing the swim test before our senior year, and 2 PE credits for attending a Wellness seminar.</p>
<p>A “1-credit PE class” actually is only a 7 week class, which meets once a week for 7 weeks. There’s no “homework” involved, it’s just go and work out, dance, or whatever the class is. Therefore, if you have one PE class all the time, You can take 2 PE classes/credits per semester (4 per year) and get the requirement out of the way in your first 2 years of college. Passing the swim test counts for 1 PE credit. My D also took a “women’s self-defense” class that only took up one weekend (most of the day Friday and half a day Saturday), and that gave her 1 PE credit as well-- that was offered twice during the semester, if I’m not mistaken. PE class really is nothing to stress over. Most of them meet on Friday afternoons (usually no other classes meeting then). You can also apply to get PE credits for stuff you do outside of school (like if you run every morning, perhaps, or if you are in a dance club). The Wellness Seminar mentioned above is required and that gets you 2 PE credits (meets for a whole semester), talks about stuff like getting enough sleep and eating right in college. PE = least of your worries, I’d say.</p>
<p>Additionally, if you’re on a sports team you get 2 credits a season (I think, it might be 4…), so as a rower (which is a fall and spring sport) I completed my PE requirement in the first year.</p>
<p>If your daughter wants to get the gym credit at BMC out of the way and have lots of fun, she should join the fencing team. The coach is wonderful. The team is incredibly flexible. We travel to compete, and there’s a fencing academy in Philadelphia if she wants to train harder. It’s 100% worth looking into!</p>