<p>I have severe water phobia... if I take a class and I still can't swim, will they really not let me graduate from UChicago? Have you heard of anyone getting an exception?</p>
<p>man up. I have extreme acrophobia, but I would skydive if it meant graduating college.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of anyone taking a swimming class and failing it. I imagine that if you had some documented medical issue with water – say, you were the Wicked Witch of the West – you could probably get exempted from even taking the class. Short of that, though, I think you would probably be stuck taking the class (and if you take the class you will be fine).</p>
<p>Of course, there are plenty of colleges that don’t require any swimming to graduate (although a surprising number do still have a swimming requirement). If your fears are too severe, you may have to limit your search to those colleges. That will exclude Chicago, which is sad, but the damage won’t be extensive.</p>
<p>As long as you’re willing to participate in the swim class, you should be fine. You can look at some of the course descriptions on the UChicago athletics web site: [University</a> of Chicago Physical Education](<a href=“http://athletics.uchicago.edu/physed/physed-coursedescriptions.htm]University”>http://athletics.uchicago.edu/physed/physed-coursedescriptions.htm). The novice swimming course only requires you to learn breathing and floating techniques; with proper guidance, I’m sure you would be able to pass it and never worry about swimming again.</p>
<p>Cool. I am fine with taking the class; I am just wanted a failsafe in case I take the class but end up flailing around and not gaining the ability to swim 
I want to push myself, I just don’t want my graduation on the line for it. Thanks for the help and being understanding!!</p>
<p>Jw, is the Novice class pass or fail or is it graded on a letter scale?</p>
<p>All the fear and the world can’t change this basic principle: your body floats! If you lie in a pool facedown, you will float, and then, all you have to do is lift your head a little bit from time to time to take a breath. While you are exhaling (blowing bubbles into the water), you can paddle your arms a lttle, and/or kick your feet, and you will be propelled forward. You can do this slowly, without tiring. Eventually, you will reach the other end of the pool. Just the facts.</p>
<p>sinflower, all PE courses are P/F, since they do not count towards the minimum 3 credit course load requirement per quarter. So no worries. Swimming is the last reason why you should pass up UChicago, if indeed there are any :D</p>