A Checklist for your GSoC Preparation
Guess it’s close to GSoC season, now that you’re here. And it’s the same as when I wrote this thing so you’re in luck! I’m writing a small checklist of stuff you need to get done if you wanna get selected in GSoC this time. Also, I’m just a dude who got selected once, so don’t expect anything too great 😅
Before the actual list, here’s a few tips for staying a cut better than the rest of the applicants. I know this is not part of the story but these few things are something you wanna keep in mind throughout.
- Talk to the Mentors early on — This is extremely important. These people are the ones that’ll eventually select your proposal. And from their POV, they’re much more likely to select that of a participant they’ve talked to or gotten a feel for rather than someone who posted a proposal and didn’t do anything afterwards. Also interact with them and other candidates on their preferred mode of communication (It’ll be given on their profile on the GSoC page)
- Be Realistic — This seems counterintuitive but a proposal about something wildly innovative is actually more likely to get rejected, simply because they don’t have anyone to mentor you or because your timeline and goals are too unrealistic for the project. It’s exciting to do new things, but as a maintainer, it’s often preferable to do something simple yet meaningful than branching into an entirely new domain that’ll just get abandoned after your project.
- Focus on Proposal Quality, not Quantity — I experienced this in my own application as well as from experience of others. You have a total of 3 proposals you can submit, but there’s no need to use all of them. I’d personally only made one and focused all the time I had on that one. In case you want inspiration, here’s the link to my proposal. All these points actually boil down to one thing…
- Think from a Maintainer’s PoV — For a Maintainer of the Organisation, what they want is to continue their project and to add onto it so that it gets more popular. They don’t need something too flashy, nor do they care about someone who’s already involved in a ton of other stuff. One thing you should try after and during writing your proposal is; What would I think about this if I were the maintainer? And I guarantee this will help.
That’s enough of that! Without wasting your time even more, here’s the whole checklist:
Alright so that’s the gist of it. I’ll still describe the individual parts in a bit more detail below
Picking an Organisation
If you have one in mind and have been contributing for a while now, you’re not the one who should be reading this. This article is for the rest, who are just starting and have no clue which organisation to even pick.
First off, pick a domain and language of your preference (ideally, something popular like python or javascript so you’re open to most organisations). Once done with that, shortlist 3 - 4 organisations maximum. Once done with that, you have to pick a project rather than an Organisation
Every organisation has a ‘View Ideas’ Section (see above) in their description. Make use of it. Sure everyone loves new ideas, but the organisation might not have people to mentor that particular tech or it might be too outlandish. So unless it’s just that great an idea, try to pick an idea from their list. After all, they know best what they need.
The Proposal Itself
This thing will be lengthy. And it had better be, with the amount of effort you’re gonna put into it. It’ll be around 7–8 pages, and the basic sections you should include in one are:
- Your Details (Keep ’em light, 0.5 - 1 page)
- Your Project (As detailed as you can, 2 - 3 pages)
- Why you’re the Best Candidate (0.5 - 1 page)
- Timeline (This thing’s a behemoth, 3 pages minimum)
- Any other Obligations you have this summer (it better be none, but say so)
Getting Your Proposal Noticed
And finally, arguably the most important part. Getting this thing noticed! The first thing is, you should make it a draft visible to the organisation admins (Don’t worry, Google has an option for that during the procedure).
Then once you’re done writing the thing, say so on their IRC / Discord / Slack / Gitter Chat, whatever they have. Say you’re done and you would love it if someone would give you advice on it. Don’t be shy, if you keep mum you just get lost with all the other silent applicants and we don’t want that.
Some Useful Links
You’re done at this point but I feel I should just add a couple links to some useful stuff out there:
…Well, I picked an organisation, wrote an amazing proposal, got it out there and checked your extra links. So now what? Well, for starters make sure to give this story a few 👏 so I’m more motivated to make these! But jokes apart, you’re mostly done for now. Be sure to keep an eye on the organisation’s chat group/mailing list in case your proposal gets mentioned.
Again, never be scared to speak! Keeping silent just means you get lost in the tons of other proposals I’m sure the organisation is already getting. The entire point is for you to stand out, and being low-key defeats the entire purpose. And with that we’re done here! Do comment if you get selected later on!
Also, don’t forget about applauding the story 👀
