<p>Holy Crap!</p>
<p>So, I'm dilly dallying on Cornell's site and I come across the requirements for Arts and Sciences and it says...</p>
<p>"10. Physical education: completion of the university requirement (passing a swim test and two 1-credit nonacademic courses). Note: Physical education credit does not count toward graduation or toward the 12-credit minimum required for good academic standing each semester. "</p>
<p>SWIM TEST??!! WHAT??!!</p>
<p>I know it says "Physical education credit does not count toward graduation," but what the heck is this swim test buisness in the first place?
If you couldn't tell by now, I'm totally not a swimmer. I'm allergic to chlorine (Yes, I said "allergic to chlorine"...you can stop laughing right now.) And besides the whole chlorine issue, I can't swim...I can barely DOGGY PADDLE!
Someone gimme some info, please...i need to know if the last moments of my life could potentially be spent drowning at the bottom of a Cornell swimming pool!</p>
<p>maybe you'll have to swim the gorges then (since ur allergic to chlorine)</p>
<p>Splendid. Death by drowning or death by head to jagged rock collision...</p>
<p>they excuse people if they have reason to not to take the swim test. r u already admitted? i would suggest u call cornell and get a medical.</p>
<p>Nah, I'm not admitted yet (doubt I will be ). I was just shocked to find out that they make swimming a requirement.</p>
<p>A bunch of the older colleges do this. Swarthmore also has a swimming requirement.</p>
<p>cornell,mit, and others have the same swim requirement</p>
<p>Well, thanks guys..this is a totally new piece of information for me.</p>
<p>...don't feel bad about it; I can't swim either! It's hard! I took lessons a while back, but obviously not enough...</p>
<p>yeah they basically want to make sure that their investment doesnt drown in some retarded fashion. They make sure you can swim a pool length and back. And if not, they make you learn. And then you retake the test. Sort of...protecting the work they have put into a scholar.</p>
<p>when i was a kid i use to go to day camp and they made us take lessons (this is prior to finding out i had chlorine allergy)...i dunno for some reason water and my body don't really mix...so when i was like 7 or 8 my swim instructor got *<strong><em>ed at me cuz i couldn't hold my head underwater long enough, so she got *</em></strong>ed and grabbed my head and held me under (hence my extreme phobia of water)...i've never been quite right since..</p>
<p>I thought it was interesting, and also very fun/good requirement for graduation...except for ppl who really can't do it (e.g. allergic to chlorine)</p>
<p>I'm personally looking forward to it!</p>
<p>...I can't seem to get the taking breaths of air and actually swimming part down</p>
<p>I have trouble trying to get started too...I can never get in the right position to just start kicking</p>
<p>can we swim with oxygen tanks?</p>
<p>oxygen sounds great...
come to think about it, i believe my swimming skills are just like my dancing skills..non existant...there's just a complete disconnect with my brain and my body...doesn't Cornell know that some nerds just can't do physical activity??</p>
<p>can you tell them you don't know how to swim? or do they throw everyone in the pool and just have lifeguards who save those who drown?</p>
<p>there's probably no choice =(</p>
<p>time to talk to a friend with a pool who can teach how to swim in 4 months...I hope it doesn't take that long, though...</p>
<p>lol..sounds like a good idea</p>
<p>A non-chlorinated pool? Good luck finding one of those in suburbia. If you really do have an allergy to chlorine, that's gotta be an excuse not to partake in the swim test. They won't purposely cause you physical harm. That's just what I think, but who am I?</p>
<p>i wonder exactly how specific they are about this swim test.
is it just like "make it across the length of the pool without shouting help or drowning or putting your feet on the floor" or is it more like "You're an embarassment to cornell when you kick like you're riding a bike" or is it "you're stupid if you aren't good at swimming"
oh boy. i thought all of these required swimming things were over in summer camp...
hehe</p>