I was planning on joining the army right after high school, so in my senior year I talked to a recruiter and took the ASVAB. We were super stoked because I got a really good score and I was sent to MEPS. He told me before that the only things that were a concern was my medical history of self harm and that my use of prescribed antidepressants was too recent. He said that it wouldn’t be much of a concern and that he’s been able to get a waiver for worse things, blah blah, month after I get back from MEPS I’m temporarily disqualified.
I am eligible to re apply in December of this year, because I believe that will be when there has been a sufficient gap of time of me not taking antidepressants. But my concern is that the pure fact that I’ve been disqualified before makes me immediately less likely to be fought for approval by recruiters or look worse for the people giving out waivers. I know that recruiters are selective about who they put their time into and I don’t want to be at a disadvantage in that regard. By December I’ll have finished my Associates Degree and I’m really hoping I’ll be able to pivot to the military after that as soon as possible.