How I got selected for GSoC 2019

What is GSoC ??

Google Summer of Code is a global program focused on bringing more student developers into open source software development. Students work with an open-source organization on a 3-month programming project during their break from school. Accepted students work with a mentor and become a part of the open-source community. Many become lifetime open source developers!

As a part of Google Summer of Code, student participants are paired with a mentor from the participating organizations, gaining exposure to real-world software development and techniques. Students have the opportunity to spend the break between their school semesters earning a stipend while working in areas related to their interests.

In turn, the participating organizations can identify and bring in new developers who implement new features and hopefully continue to contribute to open source even after the program is over. Most importantly, more code is created and released for the use and benefit of all.

How can you apply ??

Applying to GSoC is simple. Every year around November or December, Google announces their GSoC program for the following year. Then organizations are shortlisted based on their applications by March. Students can select any organization of their choice, see what projects can be done with the organization(mostly see the projects page of that org) and make a proposal on how you plan to complete that project with technical description and timeline. And submit that proposal on the GSoC and hope that you are selected :)

How to select an ORG ??

This is the most frequently asked question. Among the hundreds of orgs, many people get confused on which org should they choose and what skill they require and precisely how to predict which org will participate next year in GSoC.

Short Answer: Check the Org’s project page or ask on the public forums of the org you will always get useful information from there.

Long Answer: Here are some things I will recommend on should follow but are in no way hard rules for getting into GSoC. The best time I feel to start preparing for GSoC is around September or October (at least that’s when I started), this is because you may get some time to experiment with different org and then pick one. If you start late, you will have to select and then stick with it, which I feel may reduce your chance of selection. Secondly, try to pick the org depending on what you will like to work upon. You can learn the required skills once you finalize the org. Check the Org’s previous year’s projects page for more information on what they have to offer. Also try to set up the codebase of the org, sometimes its a lengthy process for the first-timers and may take some time.

When to start and which programming languages should I know ??

As mentioned earlier, I fell September or October is the best time to start. Also, as such, there is no threshold on how much languages, etc., you should know for participating. You can choose the Org’s depending on the languages you know and then learn anything else that the Org may require although I would highly recommend you to learn more about Git and GitHub that would help you and will be a high starting point.