As @myloves says, there’s no sense in worrying about things that cannot be changed, like height. It is what it is. The best thing you can do is know your type and market yourself for that type. Professionally, be aware of what’s out there and what is practical, what impractical.
But for college auditions, I wouldn’t try to figure out which schools go for 5’7", which for diverse, etc. I would audition for the schools I loved, put my heart into it, and let them make their decisions.
Most schools take a range anyway - the girls in my D’s program range from 4’ something tall all the way to 6’ tall. I’m with @Myloves and @connections - don’t worry about something like height that you cannot change! My 5’7" girl is happy that there are SEVERAL girls in the program taller than she!
The related bias that nobody likes to talk about is attractiveness. Do candidates who are conventionally attractive have an edge? If you are a college looking to fill one spot and you have two equally talented auditions- do you think they offer to the better looking one?
@MTMHopeful - I think a quick glance at most Showcase participants shows that most programs find plenty of very attractive applicants. I suspect, however, that in more than a few cases this causes them to overlook tomorrow’s big stars, as so often charisma is more than skin deep.
As a 6’ tall human being (and a performer a lifetime ago) I would argue than extra short girls are in a better boat than the extra tall. Heels can make you taller to get closer to the height of a leading man- but nothing makes you shorter.
@toowonderful - age is making me shorter, but most actresses don’t want to wait that long. 
@MomCares - I have been waiting for that to start- I just want to be able to buy pants like a normal human!
@toowonderful - Age is not doing me any favors in the pants department, so I can’t help you there. 
@MTMHopeful, I suspect that yes, all other things being equal, the more attractive one gets in. Looks matter. No matter what we all want or hope or know is right. Looks matter in the entertainment industry in our country. And you can all list famous actors who are not beautiful…I know they exist. But generally speaking, looks matter. Weight matters. Height matters. It all matters. Certain schools tend to take beautiful, commercial looking, talented kids. And why wouldn’t they? There is a bias towards beauty in our society. (I know there are Josh Gads and Whoopi Goldbergs, etc. Famous people who are not classically beautiful. Listing the exceptions will not change the general rule.)
As others have said, you cannot change your height or general looks. Just know your type. You can’t be right for everything. I am sure great beauty and an average height will have more chances, but there are all sorts of roles out there.
As far as height, I have personally known some girls who are about 4’10" who attended CCM and Tisch, as examples, and who were professionally cast post college.
My daughter is not what I think of as tiny, but she is 5’3". She will never professionally be a chorus girl, though that is fine by her. While I think she is attractive, she is not a classic “beauty.” She is consistently working professionally now and so she knows she is right for some things and not for others. She accepts that. You have to accept yourself and your type and work with it and go for things that you are suited to.
Hee hee too wonderful. Your post is true. With a short kiddo who was always feeling not long legged enough in school or dance she does not see the other side of being one of those gorgeous tall ones. I do think being short is harder for MT but maybe at least not as much a factor for film and television work.
Nice people have an edge.
As many veterans in the industry like to say, “You are enough.”
It is so hard to succeed in acting that I suspect that height (or lack thereof) is not going to be anyone’s biggest problem.
@MTRaleighmom – actually the Diva is only 4’10". I think it definitely was a factor in college auditions. She passed all prescreens bc they couldn’t tell her height, but I have a suspicion that when she got in the room, it worked against her. We have a joke that she specializes in all the roles with the word Little or Baby in them. And, she can play Annie until she is 30. Oh, and Connie Wong since she is 4’10" and Asian.
" Undoubtedly it will have some impact. Which is not to say she can’t get cast…it will simply limit her roles."
Some shorter leading men would probably dislike a co-star that would dwarf him. I would thinking being short might still interfere with roles for men but it would surprise me if it did not open some doors for a women.
Just to chime in here, I second what many have said: Know your type! The reality in the professional world is that every casting call describes the type the director is looking for. Some roles have a lot of flexibility regarding type and some do not; either because of the story or the writers instructions. So body size, height, weight, ethnicity will always effect what job an actor can get. My son is 6’3" so he is never going to be a Newsie. Ha! But back to the OP’s question, there are roles (and spots in MT programs) for all body types, but if a program already has 3-4 short girls they may decide to look for taller for one or two audition cycles.
It my experience, @MTDadand son is unusually tall for MT, and tall is a definite asset for men auditioning for MT. The tall (and of course, talented) guys seem to have a lot of success in all auditions. My D was just at SETC, and ALL boys were getting double the number of call backs as most of the girls, but the “leading man” type were getting 20-30+ callbacks. No surprise because we all know there are about 5+ girls for every guy auditioning. I’m not whining because we all went into this field with eyes wide open. I also agree with @lostaccount. I think that petite can work in a girl’s favor when you look at the overall stature of guys in theatre. Really tall guys are an exception in MT, so if you have more guys in the 5’7"-6’0"range, it is easier to partner a girl 5’0-5’6" ( in heels). That said, I love that there seems to be a growing acceptance / more roles for the those who don’t fit the traditional mold.
Another contributing factor is that statistically there are two male roles for every one female role.
I have to agree that in some respects, the height of the male lead who is cast determines the height of the females that will be looked at to play opposite. Supply and demand I think. They have many more females to choose from in the pool, so many times the men get cast first, then they look for the female. I know that at 5"6’ my D feels like she is on the “too tall” side based on how many guys she sees that are in the 5’8-10" range. With heels, she is going to be the same height or taller.
There will be times when she is too tall and times when she won’t be. There will be times when her flaming red hair will help, and times when it won’t. You can’t change what you can’t change, so thinking about type is important but also shouldn’t be so narrowly limiting. Let’s face it, so much of this industry is a crap shoot whether you are looking at the admissions process or the real world. Pretty much everyone has things that will work for them and things that will work against them in the casting or admissions process. You have to quickly come to understand that casting isn’t personal (unless you have a reputation for being difficult to work with, which can cost you) but a matter of fit. And fit is sometimes fluid. All you can do is go forward with the best preparation you can bring to table, show them who you are, and build a network of people who know you are a hard worker and a decent human being. The rest is very much out of your control.
This is so very true. Once our kids are out of college and in adult equity auditions they will quickly realize that EVERYONE is crazy talented and fit (with a healthy dose of pre-casting - which IS personal - thrown in for good measure) becomes the name of the game.