Today I’m making the announcement I look forward to all year: SOLA’s new admissions season is about to begin.

2026 admissions will open on Monday, March 23. Our application will be available on our website starting on the 23rd, and students will be able to complete their application in English, Dari, or Pashto.

More information about admissions will be coming this week, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions for students and parents. Everything will be shared across SOLA’s social media and on our website.

Last year, as you know, our admissions season shattered all records. In 2025 we received more than 5,300 applications from Afghan girls worldwide. We could admit only 53 girls. These girls are traveling to Rwanda on a rolling basis with chaperones from the UN’s International Organization for Migration, and I could not be prouder of this enduring partnership between SOLA and IOM.

SOLA can only accept applications from Afghan girls who are under the age of 18. We simply can’t bring every girl to SOLA who wants to come – but what we can do is bring SOLA to you. That’s why we’ve created our SOLAx online program. SOLAx turns two years old this month: we have more than 31,000 students studying with us, and it’s completely free. We provide a full 7th and 8th grade curriculum, and we offer STEM courses on the 9th grade level with 10th, 11th, and 12th grades coming soon. SOLAx is available for all students of all ages and I encourage every student who is age 18 and over to visit our SOLAx website, look at what we do, and join us. We built SOLAx for you.

March 23 is a day of deep meaning. March 23 marks four years since girls in Afghanistan had the doors of schools closed in their faces. Every Afghan remembers that day, and with SOLA in Rwanda and online with SOLAx, we continue our mission to educate Afghan girls, the generation of women leaders who’ll bring peace to Afghanistan.

We don’t look away. We never will.

-Shabana