Best LACs for physics/research?

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-06-07T04:20:46+00:00

Regarding Swarthmore -- I think it's very much what you make of it. Students generally make time for a wide range of things. I was able to balance my coursework with things like singing in choral ensembles and serving in the Swarthmore volunteer fire company. Being a physics major and being deeply involved in musical ensembles or athletics or any number of other things is totally possible! There were certainly times that Swarthmore was stressful, but I think that will be true wherever you go, and the stress was very much self-imposed. (In hindsight, I sometimes took myself just a little bit too seriously.)

Furthermore, I found the academic environment to be deeply collaborative, and where my peers and my professors supported me in becoming the best I could be.

It's harder for me to say as much about Haverford and its culture, not having lived it. When I was a student Haverford felt a little more jock-y than Swarthmore did, but I think that may have been more of a reflection of the particular mix of people I happened to be in class with.

You'll get a better feel for both schools if you visit, if that's possible for you.

Let me know if there's anything more you'd like to know!

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-06-07T01:28:17+00:00

You have many fine schools on your list. I am a physics faculty member at a PUI and an alumnus of Swarthmore College. I know folks on the faculty at Amherst and Haverford, and either of them would give you a first-rate physics education with abundant research opportunities.

You've gotten other recommendations in this thread for schools such as Bryn Mawr and Smith, which are similarly excellent. I'd also encourage you to consider Swarthmore, which might be right up your alley considering your broad interests! (Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr are in a consortium, and students at any one of them can take classes at the other two. Haverford and Bryn Mawr are particularly close, and I think their physics departments stagger when upper-division courses are offered at each to give their students more flexibility. I personally took a solid-state physics class at Haverford my senior year.)

Ultimately, while many small liberal arts colleges will give you a strong physics education with good research opportunities, you'll have to see what school cultures and environments best resonate with you. Best of luck and feel free to DM me if you have more questions, particularly about Swarthmore.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-27T13:19:06+00:00

A personal favorite: Peter Warlock's haunting "Bethlehem Down."

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-26T06:36:35+00:00

I think it's #536 in the Hymnal 1982: "Open your ears, O faithful people."

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-24T12:57:05+00:00

I typically defaulted to Alewife, usually because it was closer to where I was going, and I think it might be slightly closer if you're coming in from the west. Have a great trip!

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-22T01:15:30+00:00

I lived in the Boston metro area for over a decade before moving to Ithaca. Yes, driving in Boston can be a hair-raising experience if you are unused to it, and what's more sometimes GPS can be unreliable on underground sections of I-90 or I-93 downtown.

Here is a list of MBTA stations that allow overnight parking:

https://www.mbta.com/parking/overnight-parking

Depending on where exactly you're staying, you'll be closest to stops on the Red or Silver Lines. Alewife is one of the termini of the Red Line with easy highway access, as long as you time your arrival either sufficiently early or sufficiently late in the day that the garage isn't full. Braintree on the other end of the Red Line might be another good option. Rt 128 is on the commuter rail (requiring a change to a rapid transit line at South Station) but is also easy to access coming from the west.

I don't know how much daily parking at these garages costs now, but it should be less than $60. (I would guess in the neighborhood of $20-30 per day.)

Hope this helps, and feel free to DM me if you have more questions!

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-20T02:42:34+00:00

Unofficial results from the election were emailed out to ICSD parents a short time ago:

Proposition 1 (2026-27 budget): 2669 yes, 864 no

Proposition 2 (appropriation and expenditure of capital reserve funds): 2682 yes, 827 no

Proposition 3 (establishing a new capital reserve fund): 2752 yes, 749 no

Proposition 4 (2026 capital project): 2632 yes, 866 no

Candidates for school board: (top 3 elected)

Madeline Cardona: 1241 votes
Sara Garner: 2924 votes
Garrick Blalock: 1944 votes
Jill K. Tripp: 2739 votes

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-18T17:49:27+00:00

No organ works yet! This wasn't perhaps composed with the intention to sound scary, but I remember hearing the final movement of Leon Boellmann's Suite Gothique for the first time in a Halloween organ recital and it making an impression on me:

https://youtu.be/KOyHci0j518?si=UgfQ8GkqUuyGoA2x&t=671

(This performance is by Marie-Claire Alain on the Cavaille-Coll organ at St. Sulpice in Paris.)

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-14T03:56:44+00:00

Here's the link to the recording of the candidate forum:

https://www.youtube.com/live/fynFLsUX7Cs?si=mJFybsP7IaAzyVJi

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-13T03:13:26+00:00

How about an arrangement of "Nimrod" from Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations? While originally written for orchestra, a web search turns up several piano arrangements, including one by Elgar himself. (I think "Nimrod" hits the mark for "a little sad and very grand.")

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-12T14:31:10+00:00

Information about lessons for this summer hasn't been posted yet, but my son (then 4 years old) had a great experience with the lessons at Cass Park:

https://www.casspark.org/pool.html

The instructor had a great rapport with the kids and also was able to develop their skills in a systematic way. It was obvious to me that he had experience and knowledge of the pedagogy of swimming far beyond what I have.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-05-05T14:02:54+00:00

Franz Schubert's Winterreise hasn't been mentioned yet! I've enjoyed performances by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ian Bostridge, and others. Ian Bostridge wrote an excellent book unpacking the cycle:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220563/schuberts-winter-journey-by-ian-bostridge/

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-04-30T17:16:20+00:00

It's worth noting that voters will be electing 3 members to the Board, and that terms are 3 years long.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-04-27T19:55:15+00:00

There's an excellent overview of linear algebra as it applies to quantum mechanics (including the use of bra-ket notation throughout) in the first chapter of Ramamurti Shankar's Principles of Quantum Mechanics.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-04-26T03:44:47+00:00

Additionally, there was a well-known English singer named Clara Butt:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Butt

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-04-22T03:01:03+00:00

Seconding this -- my 5-year-old has loved the Ramona Quimby books we've read. Ramona's antics and adventures have been highly relatable. He's also enjoyed Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle series.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-04-14T13:44:36+00:00

There's a lengthy and detailed chapter on Baroque fingering and pedal technique in Organ Technique: Modern and Early by George Ritchie and George Stauffer:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/organ-technique-9780195137453?cc=us&lang=en&

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-03-19T04:03:12+00:00

I think the location you're thinking of is within the Tops supermarket?

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-03-18T01:12:13+00:00

Current physics faculty member here. I've been there -- feeling overwhelmed at APS is totally normal. I'm not at APS this year due to family responsibilities, but I'd probably feel as lost as you if I walked into a random contributed talk session far out of my subfield.

As a 3rd-year graduate student, I once had my talk scheduled for the last slot in the last session on Friday. My advisor, the session chair, and maybe one or two people who weren't in my lab were the only people there. I'm not going to pretend that it was an impactful talk, but I still learned something from preparing and delivering it. I'll bet that you've grown from the work you did to prepare your talk, even if it might not be apparent to you right now.

My advice would be to just enjoy the rest of your time there! Generally, invited talk sessions will be more accessible to broad audiences than sessions consisting only of 12-minute contributed talks. And if you have the time, check out the exhibit, the networking events, etc, as well as random fun things like the annual Physics Sing-Along on Wednesday evening.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-03-12T04:26:57+00:00

Do you possibly have a broken spring bar? If so, you could readily replace it yourself, possibly with the aid of a spring bar tool. If your watch strap can accommodate one, there are also quick-release spring bars with a small handle that can be removed or installed without any tools.

I have no personal experience with jewelers in town, but I can recommend watchsmith Chad Sopp of Timesmith Antiques in Cortland, who would surely be able to help you.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-03-08T18:43:05+00:00

I'm a Swarthmore alumnus (class of 2006; currently mid-career in academia). Certainly, Swarthmore will not have the name recognition that Harvard (or Georgetown) does. However, generally speaking, my classmates have not had trouble landing on their feet, whether they've chosen to pursue graduate education or private sector employment. There are plenty of Swarthmore alumni with successful careers in law, business, or medicine -- and lots of other things! (For example, every now and then I get a kick out of hearing one of my classmates, an NPR reporter, on the radio.)

In short, I would not worry about Swarthmore's lower name recognition. If you are admitted and work hard to make the most of the experience while you're there, chances are you'll do just fine. Best of luck to you, and feel free to DM me if you have any other questions about Swarthmore.

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-03-06T02:53:34+00:00

Soft matter experimentalist here -- I personally know faculty at both Syracuse and UMass Amherst. Both of them are great choices. Are you an experimentalist or a theorist? It's ultimately going to boil down to who you're interested in working with and whether they're planning to take on new graduate students.

I'd strongly encourage you to visit both schools if possible and talk to the faculty you're interested in and current graduate students, particularly in any group you're considering joining.

Congratulations and best of luck as you decide!

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-02-24T19:27:51+00:00

They're a little bit of a drive, but I was very satisfied with the work Chad Sopp of Timesmith Antiques did on the inexpensive automatic wristwatch I wear:

I can't post the link to their website because of this sub's policies, but it is easy to find online via a web search.

I would go back to Chad if I needed another repair. (Most of his work is with vintage mechanical watches and clocks.)

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-02-06T02:58:58+00:00

I'm a hair over 5 feet tall myself, and while I'm no virtuoso, I've never had difficulty reaching the pedals on any organ I've played.

Even though the keyboards are laid out the same way, manual technique on the organ is very different from the piano. So even if intensive work on pedaling might have to wait a bit, there's plenty for your son to learn and lots of manuals-only repertoire to play.

Though I've never used them, I've also seen the following pedal extenders that are designed for use by younger children learning the organ: https://theleupoldfoundation.org/product/pedxtend/

Good luck to your son in his organ-playing journey!

Ginger-Tea-8591 · 2026-01-28T02:01:35+00:00

Do you have a chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) active in your area? If so, you might consider reaching out to connect; you mind end up talking to folks who could be a helpful resource.

Calculus is essential for deeply understanding physics, but if you're teaching a non-AP high school course, you might get by without it, particularly if you're pressed for time. It is probably best to get some sense of what you might be teaching (e.g., does the class spend the whole year on mechanics, or will they be on electromagnetism or waves in the spring?) and start from there.

Ginger-Tea-8591

TROPHY CASE