Because of his family's weak finances, Tsai decided after graduating from junior high school to take the entrance exam for a military academy, but he didn't meet the school's minimum height requirement, so he hit the books with a vengeance and tested into the World College of Journalism.
國中畢業後，因為家貧，蔡聰明選擇報考士官學校，卻因為身高不足沒被錄取，後來發憤讀書考上了世新。