ADMISSION TO-DO LIST

Michael O. Drummy

Assistant Vice Chancellor and
Chief Admission Officer
mdrummy@chapman.edu

Mike, an “OC” native and Chapman alumnus attended Laguna Beach schools prior to Chapman. He came up through the ranks in the Office of Admission after coming to work as a “rookie” admission counselor soon after graduating in 1974. During his 30-plus years at Chapman his professional network has become extensive, and he is highly visible in admission circles, serving WACAC and NACAC in various formal and ad hoc capacities. Mike and staff were the recipients of the 2002 WACAC Service Award. He supervises a staff of 30 and oversees undergraduate and graduate admission operations. His wife, Trish Madigan Drummy '81, is a Chapman alumna and their two children are current Chapman students.

Mike’s counseling territory includes Hawai’i, Guam, Santa Barbara/Ventura/Ojai and the Central Coast.

Advice from Drummy:
If you ask a counselor, teacher, or school administrator to write a recommendation or submit a transcript on your behalf, don’t simply assume they did it for you.  You need to follow up with them and check the status of your application on-line to make sure the recommendation or the transcript has been submitted and that your file is complete.  Every year, application files remain incomplete and are never reviewed because the applicant did not follow up on their own behalf.   

Drummy’s favorite spot on campus:
Top row of Chapman Stadium.  Beautiful views… nice ocean breeze. 

Drummy’s best admission memory:
I had recently graduated from Chapman and just returned from a 6 month “post-graduation retirement period” in Hawai’i.  Mike Fox, Chapman’s director of admission, challenged me to a game of HORSE (basketball shooting contest).  If he won, I would have to go to go to work for him.  He did, so I had a new job, but I told him I would only do it for one year.  But he was smart.  The first thing he did was give me Hawai’i as a recruitment territory.  That was 34 years ago and I’m still here… enjoying every day.

Drummy’s best Chapman memory:
There are, obviously, many Chapman memories, but a couple of things do stand out:  I vividly recall the first time I saw my wife, Trish Madigan Drummy '81, of 27 years walking across campus.  I was stunned and my life was changed forever.  And traveling around the world (twice) as a student on Chapman’s Semester at Sea program also changed my life and showed a kid who’d never seen much outside of Orange County what the rest of the world looked, smelled, tasted, and felt like.   Whether you’ve traveled much or not, you should seriously consider doing a Study Abroad while at Chapman.  It will change your life, too. 

From Our Application

Short Answers

Three Words to Describe Yourself: Fair and honest

Favorite Subject: My family

Role Model: Ronald Reagan

Favorite Musical Performer/Band/Composer: "The Budster"

Most Prized Possession: Golf clubs

Favorite Summer Activity: Guess

Book You Would Read Again: Echo Park by Michael Connelly

Best Movie of All Time: Chinatown

Favorite Quote (and by whom): “Can’t we all just get along?”… Rodney King

Dream Job: Superintendant at Pebble Beach Golf Links