These NYC Private Schools Among Nation's Most Competitive: Study

NEW YORK — The specialized high schools aren't the only game in town. Four elite New York City academies are among the most competitive secondary schools in the United States, a new study says.

Two private schools in Manhattan and two in The Bronx made Test Innovators' annual list of the nation's 50 most sought-after institutions, based on a survey of more than 18,000 students who used the online test-prep platform.

The Bronx's Riverdale Country School earned the highest ranking among the city's academies at No. 13 on the nationwide list published Tuesday, which includes 48 private schools and just two public schools.

None of the city's nine specialized high schools — highly competitive public institutions that at the center of a recent controversy over standardized testing — were included on the list, even though they've been ranked among the best in the state.

The most highly desired school in the country is Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1778. More than half the schools Test Innovators ranked — 27, to be exact — are in the northeastern U.S.

Here are the four Big Apple schools that made Test Innovators' list. See the full ranking here.

• Riverdale Country School, The Bronx — No. 13
• Horace Mann School, The Bronx — No. 17
• The Dalton School, Upper East Side — No. 23
• Trinity School, Upper West Side — No. 25