How to Get Selected for GSoC (Google Summer of Code) - My Personal Experience at Accord Project
Recently GSoC 2025 has ended, and I’ve successfully passed this. I thought, why not share my personal experience so that you can also crack GSoC.
By the end of this article, you’ll get to know what actually is GSoC, how to crack it, how many attempts you can make, and what happens if you crack GSoC.
How it all started
GSoC and open source started for me when I learned more about open source at DevFest 2024, probably towards the end of the year.
Until then, I only had a rough idea about open source and GSoC, but that day opened my mind a bit.
The next day, I went and contributed to the website of GNOME Nepal, the same org I had heard about at DevFest from Aditya Singh (founder of GNOME Nepal). My first pull request got merged there, and that actually got me excited.
A late start
It was late compared to others preparing for GSoC. It was already the start of 2025, and I was still at the beginning level while many were way ahead. For me, it was not the first start, but a fast and smart start.
Honestly, I had no hope I would get into GSoC this year. I just started exploring open source more deeply, without thinking of GSoC 2025. Some YouTube videos divide GSoC orgs into two categories:
- very competitive and large orgs that come every year
- smaller orgs that recently started coming with comparatively less competition
(Remember this point, I’ll come back to it later.)
At that time, I wasn’t sure which org I’d target for GSoC 2026, but I had started exploring random projects/repos to get a basic idea.
Before and after org announcements
I want to break my journey into two parts: before the GSoC 2025 org announcement and after it.
Before the announcement, I had contributed to a few projects but none of them were targeted GSoC orgs. I had no expectation of getting into GSoC, and I wasn’t sure which org would align with my interests.
Everything changed when the GSoC 2025 organizations were announced in the last week of February. After a few days, the enthusiasm to get into GSoC sparked inside me.
I picked a few orgs, mostly newer ones that were not very repetitive. Then I narrowed down to two, thinking I could submit proposals to both and maybe get lucky haha.
But finally, I ended up sticking with a single org where I had a real chance: Accord Project. Out of all the orgs, Accord Project fit my technical expertise and interests the best.
Deciding on Accord Project
By the first week of March, I had finalized Accord Project for GSoC 2025. That gave me only about a month to show my skills to the maintainers.
I started exploring whatever I could about Accord Project. I had already decided which project idea to go for. I opened a few issues, got some PRs merged, and had a few open. Days went on like this, and then it was time for proposal submission.
I had seen many people with lots of merged PRs, since they had started preparing 4–5 months earlier. But for me, it didn’t matter much. I think it’s all about quality over quantity: the quality of the proposal and how you plan to handle the main project idea.
Proposal writing and exams
The proposal-writing period overlapped with my 4th semester board exams. We had a 3-day gap between exams, so I spent around 2 days writing my proposal, contributing, and exploring the codebase more.
I submitted the proposal on April 8, the last date. Even after submission, I kept exploring the codebase because my idea was to learn more, no matter the result.
Result day
I honestly had very little hope of getting selected, as I wasn’t an early starter. I thought I’d definitely get into GSoC 2026, but not this year.
Then came May 8, the result day. A few days before the official announcement, some Reddit users noticed frontend changes in their GSoC dashboard. Their “Contributor” section was updated before the results. I checked mine, and yes, the same change appeared.
I got excited, but wasn’t 100% sure.
The official announcement was scheduled for 11:45 PM NPT. I usually sleep early, but that night I couldn’t. Others who had the dashboard change had already received their mails, so I was just waiting.
Finally, at around 12:30 AM, I got the mail. I got sooooooo happy. I can’t even express it.
I was sleeping with my 10-year-old brother, so I couldn’t wake him or my family up at midnight. I just stayed excited alone. I thought of sleeping and sharing the news in the morning, but lol, I couldn’t even sleep. I finally slept around 2:00 AM.
The next morning, I shared it with my family, close ones, and my friend Darshan Poudel (the biggest open source enthusiast in my class). Then I posted on LinkedIn and got many congratulations from friends, relatives, and more.
Representing Nepal in GSoC
That’s how I was able to represent Nepal among the 68 countries in GSoC 2025.
Some quick stats:
- 98,000+ registered contributors
- 15,240 contributors submitted 23,559 proposals
- 1,272 proposals were accepted
For Accord Project, about 30.5% of the proposals were for the same project I chose. The org received around 200 proposals overall.
After selection
From May 8 to June 1 was the community bonding period. I met my mentors and co-contributors, explored the codebase deeply, and felt a sense of responsibility.
From June 2, the actual coding period started. If you’re curious about my project (a JSON ↔ YAML converter for DCS), I’ve already written about it here:
Accord Project – GSoC 2025 JSON to YAML Bidirectional Converter
FAQs
What is GSoC?
Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is not an internship, but a Google-led program that promotes open source contributions worldwide.
Is there a stipend?
Yes. It depends on your country, but the base rates are:
- Small project: $750
- Medium project: $1500
- Large project: $3000 Mine was a medium one, which is the most common.
Which org should you choose for GSoC?
Pick one that aligns with your interests and skills. Don’t just chase the biggest names.
What happens if you crack GSoC?
You become part of a global network of contributors, gain mentorship, and improve your open source credibility. It can also open doors for future opportunities, jobs, and collaborations.
That’s it. I don’t know who or when you’re reading this, but if I can be of any help, I’m always ready.
Feel free to contact me if you need.
Thank you, and good luck for your next GSoC.
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