<p>Whether the swim test is a current requirement or not, I can’t say. It was required when I started at Princeton (mid-1980s), and I found it anything but trivial. </p>
<p>There was a program called “Outdoor Action” (don’t know if it still exists) that had a 1 week hiking trip just before school started. We had a medical emergency in our group, so we got back late and I missed the cattle call for the swim test. They graciously allowed me to do the test “solo” about a month later… As a runner, I simply couldn’t float. I ended up swimming in a circle for 10 minutes (couldn’t touch the wall).</p>
<p>It may be urban legend, but the coach who watched me swim said the test was a requirement because of an accident decades earlier. A student supposedly fell in the water where they practice crew, and he drowned before help could reach him. The “10 minute” requirement was meant to give rescuers time to reach anyone who needed help.</p>