As a serious musician who also wanted to take Spanish and a full math/science courseload, I was only able to graduate by taking 4 courses in summer school and only taking two years of social studies, which is no longer an option. The severe restrictions on PE waivers make it very difficult for students who are serious about music and wish to take a full academic schedule to do it. Considering music and Spanish were two of the things I discussed the most in both my college and MD/PhD program applications (and I am currently attending medical school on full scholarship, so it came across well!), I know I would have been much less successful had I not been able to continue in both of those subjects, especially competing with students from other states who do not have the same PE requirements as we do in Illinois.

With the increased social studies requirement and inability to waive PE, I would not have been able to graduate with these critical courses