The Only Scholarships for Short and Tall People

It seems like there’s a scholarship for everything, including weird awards for silly stuff like creating a tuxedo out of tape, and serious scholarships given to students with disabilities. But is there a scholarship for short people? What about a scholarship for tall people?

In this post, we’ll answer these questions, and give you our expert tips for saving thousands on college tuition.

Are There Scholarships for Short and Tall People?

Surprisingly, there is a scholarship for short people as well as a scholarship for tall people. In general, these types of scholarships aren’t as prevalent as others for a host of reasons. One reason is that being “short” or “tall” isn’t too distinctive of a feature. And unless your shortness or tallness is a medical condition (like dwarfism), members of these groups generally don’t face the same type of challenges as those in more marginalized groups, such as minorities and people with disabilities.

This is not to say that short and tall people don’t face their own unique issues—it’s just they’re more on par with other more common, less disadvantageous traits such as being left-handed. (Sadly for southpaws, the lone lefty-specific scholarship is no longer awarded, it disappeared for much of the same reasons there is such a limited offering of short and tall scholarships.)

Little People of America (LPA) College Scholarship

Amount: $250 to $1000

Deadline: May 31

Eligibility: Maximum height of 4′ 10″

Application Requirements: Members of the LPA are given preference for scholarships

The LPA scholarship prioritizes members of LPA who have a medically diagnosed form of dwarfism. Those with dwarfism face many significant day-to-day challenges, and the LPA College Scholarship seeks to help remove any financial hurdles from impeding a little person from pursuing their big college dreams.

Tall Clubs International (TCI) Scholarship

Amount: Up to $1,000

Deadline: March 1

Eligibility:

•     Men 6′ 2″ and taller, women 5′ 10″ or taller (in stocking feet)
•     Under 21 years of age
•     About to attend their first year of higher education

Tall Clubs International consists of 50 member clubs in both the U.S. and Canada, and is over 1,000 members strong. Each year, member Tall Clubs award their own local scholarships, and the winners of these scholarships are then entered to compete for one of the annual awards given by Tall Clubs International. Students whose local member Tall Clubs don’t offer a scholarship are able to apply directly to the TCI Foundation.

Tips for Winning Scholarships

There are a handful of simple steps you can take to increase your odds of winning a scholarship, such as writing a clear and concise essay, having sterling letters of recommendation, and proofreading to ensure an error-free application.

Another action you can take is to refine your scholarship strategy. It’s actually much easier to win large scholarships from colleges than from external organizations. So, here are our expert tips:

Apply to Schools Where Your Profile Is Especially Strong

For many college-bound students, the dream is to attend a highly selective school; however, most of those schools do not award merit aid. In fact, no Ivy League institutions offer merit aid and only about half of the top 20 schools (both national universities and liberal arts colleges) offer merit scholarships. At the top schools that do award merit aid, the competition for it is often intense.

One of the main reasons merit aid is a rarity at the most selective colleges is that these schools already attract excellent applicants. Less-selective schools have to pursue top students and diverse talent, and one way that they do it is with generous merit awards that are funded by the colleges themselves, instead of outside organizations. For this reason, less-selective schools offer a superb opportunity for students with strong profiles (great grades, strong test scores, and fantastic extracurriculars) and desirable qualities who are seeking extra aid. 

Interested in learning which colleges are the most generous when awarding merit aid? Check out our article, Which Colleges Give Out the Most Merit Aid? A List of the Top 50.

Look for Schools with Generous Financial Aid

There are a handful of ways that colleges seek to remove finances or minimize finances from the college equation, namely through need-blind, no-loan, and meet 100% of demonstrated need admissions policies.

Need-blind: A college with a need-blind admissions policy does not take into consideration a student’s financial circumstances or ability to pay for college when it makes admissions decisions. Need-blind schools do not guarantee to fund an accepted student’s application and while many need-blind schools have reputations for generous financial aid programs, there is a chance that admitted students will need to cover the cost of college through some combination of grants, scholarships, and loans.

No-loan: Colleges with no-loan policies determine how much a student can afford to pay for college and create a financial award to cover the rest of the cost. Those financial awards are issued through grants and work-study, and without federal or institutional loans.

Meet 100% of demonstrated need: A college that meets 100% of demonstrated need will provide accepted students with sufficient financial assistance to attend through grants, work-study, and student loans. 

The schools with the most generous financial aid awards are often schools that combine all three of the aforementioned admissions policies. Schools with need-blind, no-loan, and meet 100% of demonstrated need admissions accept students regardless of their financial circumstances, provide them with the funds they need, and accomplish this without the use of student loans.

From providing your odds of admission at a dream school to estimating your financial aid package, CollegeVine can help! Sign up for a free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our chancing calculator and get tips and real information about the college admissions process.