At a Glance
A large audition-screened Brooklyn high school — heavily oversubscribed, with a veterinary program unlike anything else in NYC public schools.
Best suited for
Brooklyn families (or commuters willing to travel) who want a screened, program-rich high school with competitive admissions and unique offerings like veterinary sciences — and who are comfortable in a large, diverse school environment.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- The Veterinary Sciences and Animal Care program is genuinely unique among NYC public schools and pulled 566 applicants for 108 seats this admissions cycle.
- Computer Science alone drew 679 applicants for 100 seats — one of the most oversubscribed screened programs in Brooklyn.
- Zero suspensions in the most recent reporting year, in a school approaching 2,000 students and well below the district average of 0.5%.
- A program richness score of 90 out of 100, spanning everything from Mock Trial and Moot Court to an Animal Care Squad, Anime, and a Gender & Sexuality Alliance.
- Teacher-reported instruction quality of 96%, comfortably above the district average of 92.6%.
Things to consider
- Audition/screened admissions — Lincoln is not a zoned school, and most programs are heavily oversubscribed with single-digit-digit offer rates.
- PTA fundraising is just $4 per student versus a district average of $78.56, signaling modest family financial involvement.
- With nearly 2,000 students, Lincoln is much larger than most Brooklyn high schools and may feel impersonal to students who thrive in tighter settings.
- Family survey response rate is only 13% — parent voices in the climate data are thinner than at schools with stronger survey turnout.
- Proficiency scores weren't reported for Lincoln, so families can't benchmark academic outcomes against peers or the district directly.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 21
District 21's top-rated schools on file — Success Academy Bensonhurst, Brooklyn School of Inquiry, Mark Twain I.S. 239 — are all elementary and middle schools, which means Lincoln effectively stands as the district's flagship traditional public high school with a distinct mission and audience from those K-8 standouts.
Academics
Specific proficiency scores weren't reported for Lincoln, so direct academic comparisons to district averages aren't possible from this data set. What we can say is that teacher-reported instruction quality sits at 96% — meaningfully above the district average of 92.6% — which suggests staff see the academic environment as strong. The school offers AP courses, G&T, and STEM tracks alongside ELL support, indicating it serves a wide academic range.
Culture
Lincoln's survey numbers tell a story of strong internal trust: teacher-principal trust is at 95%, teacher collegial trust at 92%, and teacher-reported instruction quality at 96%. Parent satisfaction lands at 91% — slightly below the district average of 92.2% — though the family survey response rate was only 13%, so it's a thinner sample. Zero suspensions in the reporting year is striking for a school approaching 2,000 students and well below the district average of 0.5%.
Community
Lincoln's student body mirrors Brooklyn's diversity — about 40% Black, 29% Hispanic, 15% Asian, and 14% White — and the school's diversity index of 76% reflects that mix. The surrounding Coney Island-Sea Gate area has a high poverty rate (27.8%) but only about 10.3% of households include children, meaning many Lincoln families likely commute in from elsewhere in the borough. An economic need index of 80.6 signals that most students come from low-income backgrounds, even though the surrounding blocks themselves aren't particularly kid-dense.
Neighborhood
The Coney Island-Sea Gate area around Lincoln has a median household income of $43,818 and a 27.8% poverty rate, with about 35.6% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Only around 10.3% of neighborhood households include children, and homeownership is just 28.6% — the area skews toward renters and older residents. The block-by-block mix of modest incomes alongside an $886,404 median home value reflects a neighborhood in transition rather than a typical school-zone demographic.
The nearest subway is Neptune Av on the F line, about a seven-minute walk; Ocean Pkwy on the Q is roughly nine minutes; and Brighton Beach on the B and Q lines is about an eleven-minute walk.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 275 families responded (13% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
A three-year program for students with a strong interest in a future career in animal care and health. Coursework focuses on small and large mammals, reptiles, fish, and birds. Students in the program score higher than their peers on Science Regents Exams, possibly earn college credit, gain hands-on experience with animals in our labs and at work sites.
VE replicates all the functions of a real business in both structure and practice. Students create and manage their virtual businesses, developing a hands-on understanding of all aspects of business, including product development, web design, production, marketing, sales, distribution, human resources, and accounting/finance. Through the VE program, students hone vital skills that place them ahead of the curve when they enter college and the workforce.
This program introduces students to the world of media production. Students develop their creative ideas and learn how to share them with the world through professional-quality video production. Regular live broadcasts of Lincoln's prestigious athletic programs train students in a "real time" production environment. Working with Adobe Premiere, professional cameras and editing equipment, students share and edit their own projects.
In today's world, technology is the driving force of change. Through our four-year Computer Science Program, students study the design and development of software and hardware to solve real world problems in a variety of business and social contexts. Students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, while coding a computer to think like a human. Computer Science students leave Lincoln amply prepared for the challenges and changes in the world of technology.
Techniques of black and white, color, digital studio, scientific, still, and video imaging that prepare students for both college and professional careers. Interested students may schedule an appointment for a tour of the program.
A humanities-based program for gifted students that explores the issues of Law and American History through a four-year sequence. Courses offered in the program included: Introduction to Law, Criminology, Constitutional Law, and Sociology. Students in this program receive preferential treatment for acceptance in AP World History, Syracuse University Project Advance or SUPA Public Policy, SUPA Personal Finance, and SUPA US History courses, all of which include college credits.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Abraham Lincoln High School admits through 7 programs, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Digital MediaEd. Opt.
- Honors Institute for American Studies – Gilder LehrmanScreened34 seats
- Institute for Professions in ScienceScreened150 seats
- Professional PhotographyAuditionVirtual auditionAudition required40 seats
- Veterinary Sciences and Animal CareEd. Opt.
- Virtual EnterpriseEd. Opt.
- ZonedZoned
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Screened programs rank the 7th-grade core-course average, so last year's final grades are the ones that count.
- 3Audition programs need a booked audition or portfolio on top of the application — book the slot through MySchools, and prepare what each studio asks for.
- 4Educational Option programs fill in equal shares across three reading levels, half by the school's ranking and half by lottery.
- 5Zoned programs give priority to students who live in the zone — a priority, not a guaranteed seat.
- 6Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
Open house
Tue, Nov 3, · 7:00 PM · Virtual
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Abraham Lincoln High School a good school?
- On Motley, Abraham Lincoln High School earns an overall rating of 63/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does Abraham Lincoln High School serve?
- Abraham Lincoln High School serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Abraham Lincoln High School?
- Abraham Lincoln High School admits by audition — applicants are judged on a performance, portfolio, or talent area.
- Is Abraham Lincoln High School public, charter, or private?
- Abraham Lincoln High School is a public school in NYC Community School District 21.
- What neighborhood is Abraham Lincoln High School in?
- Abraham Lincoln High School is in Coney Island-Sea Gate, Brooklyn.