Applying to high school in New York has become even more fraught in recent years, with increasingly competitive—and costly—private schools, a rise in test preparation for specialized public schools and a proliferation of options that can seem daunting to navigate.

Private preparatory schools in the U.K. are coming under increasing bombardment from pushy parents with "unrealistic demands", according to research.

Suggestions for parents: With the variety of scholarships, financial aid and government programs available to help with tuition, enrolling a child in a private school may be more within your reach than you expected.

Recent news articles have focused on what it's like to be admitted to - but not wholly included at - elite private schools. Students and administrators at some schools are saying that efforts to attract minority student have not always been matched by efforts to make the students' experience "one of inclusion."

Ray Diffley, Choate Rosemary Hall's Admission Director and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals (AISAP), was recently appointed Co-Chair of the Secondary School Admission Test Board's Think Tank on the Future of Assessment.

The Association of Independent School Admission Professionals Board of Directors announce the issuance of AISAP Standards & Competencies for Admission and Enrollment Professionals.