A couple of schools I am interested in have a swim test to graduate (Cornell, MIT). They also say that if the student can’t pass, they have to take a swimming class. I have no problem taking a swimming class and if any instructor can actually teach me they deserve to get a medal! I have taken multiple swimming classes over my life, different instructors, methods but have been unsuccessful. it is probably due to a disability that effects my sensory processing. What happens if I cannot pass the course. Is the only requirement to take the swim class.
You need to direct this question to those schools that have that requirement.
if I do that, won’t it be held against me. Like…don’t bother with this one, can’t even pass a swimming class.
Ask them about this. Chances are that a special adapted class is offered for students like you.
I’d ask the school. If you have a documented disability the school should be able to waive (or adapt) the requirement for you.
Ha-ha, my son is a rising senior at MIT and still hasn’t done the swim test. Sure hope he decides to try it before next June! 
At Cornell, if you know you can’t swim you can just sign up for the beginning swim class (or fail the swim test and then take beginning swimming) but I believe even if you take beginning swimming you do have to pass the swim test at some point. And the swim test isn’t hard at all; you really don’t have to be a good swimmer. You just have to be able to stay afloat and move back and forth across the pool a few times.
However, if you do have a disability, I bet they can waive the requirement for you. I wouldn’t worry about it until after you get accepted and choose to attend. Then you can email them and ask. Until then, there are much more important things to worry about!
At Columbia, if you fail the swim test, take the beginning swim class, and still fail the swim test, you do not have to do anything more.
Having said that, this really is not something for you to worry about until such time as you actually get admitted to a college that has a swim test.
I’d imagine MIT’s beginner swim class is very easy and as long as you don’t have a disability that prevents you from swimming or staying afloat, you should be fine.
I can’t say about the beginner swim class myself, as I already knew how to swim (most students take the swim test during orientation).
I had to pass a swimming test to graduate back in the Dark Ages, but I thought that kind of nonsense had long since disappeared. I don’t see why it’s a college’s business whether its graduates can swim, as opposed to having any other non-academic skill. (Why not require grads to know something equally useful, like how to drive a stick shift or make interesting small talk at a cocktail party or brew a decent cup of coffee? The list could be endless!) What is the possible justification for this ridiculous requirement?
My best guess was that so graduates don’t drown in the Charles River…but it is what it is.
But learning how to swim is like learning nearly any other sport - once you learn the correct technique, you won’t be randomly pounding on water to stay afloat.
That’s what I thought, as well, MITer94. I figure the swim requirement at MIT had to do with the Charles and safety.
When I was growing up my parents considered it an essential life skill for every child. Do you know how many people drown in this country every year? It seems very odd to trivialize it by comparing it to driving a stick shift or brewing coffee.
Even if you hate the water and vow never to go near it, there can be times when it can’t be avoided. Personally, I think it should be required by every middle school. I find it hard to understand parents who don’t care if their kids can swim or not.
Agreed. But then why should it be incumbent upon colleges to ensure that kids know how to swim? My HS had the requirement, but it seems antiquated in today’s world for colleges to require it…
I believe some colleges require swim tests because it was a condition of a sizable donation (or so the story goes…)
http://courses.cornell.edu/content.php?catoid=14&navoid=3144 details the Cornell requirement, and waivers.
At least for Harvard, which has long since eliminated the swim test, this is an urban legend. It’s apparently also an urban legend for Columbia:
http://columbiaspectator.com/2011/04/15/searching-origin-swimming-test
At Cornell, two semesters of swimming PE will also cover the requirement, I believe.