Would receiving an Other than Honorable Discharge from the military be frowned upon by a Masters in Social Work Program, especially in California?

[christian121]

When I was a young man I was stupid and a knucklehead, and eventually got administratively separated from the U.S. Marine Corps for insubordination. After much therapy and growing up, I've now gotten older and wiser, regret my previous stupidity, and am now in college slated to graduate with a 3.6 GPA and a Philosophy degree. I spent a year abroad in Barcelona, Spain learning Spanish to a conversational level and have several years of officer experience working in activist groups and organizations dedicated to improving the lives of people of color and poor folks.

And if it is of any relevance; I am a biracial, bisexual man who grew up in poverty and in a family of veterans where I saw firsthand the wonderful and lifesaving work done by social workers, therapists, and other advocates.

I really want to become a social worker and help out others the way other people have helped me and my family, but I am afraid that something my stupid 19 year old self did might harm this. Would my OTH harm me in any meaningful way? I've read that social workers with their own personal histories of struggles are actually liked more in fields like substance abuse or prison work and I am wondering if this would be a negative or even a positive for me. Should I even put my Marine Corps experience in my application and work history if it is a negative? I was thinking that maybe me being a veteran would be one more thing I could have in common with our clients when I work with veterans for instance, but I want to hear from you folks first.

Thank you very much for the advice in advance and have a blessed day! EDIT: And for what it's worth, I have a disabled veteran father and live in California so that means I can be the recipient of the Cal Vet Tuition Waiver program, which gives me free tuition at all California State sponsored universities. So I have much more financial freedom in trying to apply to schools like UC Berkeley or UCLA.

[lms202]

I'm sure it depends on the program, but I think social programs are looking at the bigger picture - at least, I would hope they are since that's what they are teaching us to do!!  I would think it might be something you'd want to address in your personal statement.  It doesn't hurt to meet with people in admissions to talk this through with either.  They may give you some tips and/or peace of mind.  Good luck!  

[BunnyMeadows]

It sounds like you've learned and grown from an experience that happened a long time ago, and that's what most programs will want to see. However, if the OTH happened as a result of physical or sexual assault, or any other behavior that could potentially harm a client, that could be a problem. I suggest you schedule an interview with your top choice and see what they say. Do the applications ask about military discharges?

Also, have you looked into how this might affect licensure? All states ask about criminal convictions on licensure applications and make a determination based upon the offence, time lapsed since conviction, etc. but I don't know if military discharges are an issue. 

Good luck! You sound like you could be a wonderful social worker. 

[BMouse]

Former Marine here, applying to MSW programs myself! UCLA, Berkeley included. I did get my honorable discharge though. I can ask my veterans counselor at my University about how this types of discharge impacts veterans applying to schools. But, what i do know is that what happens in the military usually does not follow you into the civilian world. You might not recieve benefits but what the military charges you for does not transfer over to the civilian world? I have three njps and one that was swiped under the rug by my company. Didn't have any impact on me. But i'll check with a counselor today and let you know!

[jarrodthomas]

I'm replying a little late, but I don't think that there would be a lot of schools that would shoot you down because of that -- and the ones that would, who needs 'em, right? The fact that you have grown so much since then proves that it does not define you. Definitely call attention to it, but follow up with all of the great things that you have accomplished since then. We've all done stupid things when we were younger (I transferred schools twice and didn't have a hot GPA but I'm still holding onto some hope that because it's an MSW, the people will be more understanding). Keep your head up and definitely keep us updated! I'm rooting for ya!