Now comes the phase to put your skills to use. The world of open source provides you with several opportunities to learn and get better. The gist of this phase can be summarized to this:

keep contributing to the open source

Here are a few steps to get things rolling for your Google Summer of Code Application:

Find an Organization: Google Summer of Code has several organizations that seek out students to contribute to their projects (or even suggests ideas of your own!). To begin, go to the organizations page of Google Summer of Code and take your time to browse through the hundreds of options for you to choose from. You can use filters such as theme of the company to narrow down your search. For each organization, see the open sourced projects that they have. You may/may not know how to work on it yet, but don’t let that limit your curiosity to see the wonderful ideas that organizations need help in. For where there is a will, there is a way. If done properly, this step should take you about a weekends time to narrow down your choices (yes, you can choose as many as you like for now to see which one works better). Try to finish this step as early as possible, preferably by November-December as the latest. The more time you get to try out, the better are your odds of getting through. Start Contributing: After you shortlist the organizations/projects you like, start contributing to the top priority ones. If you do not know the technology involved but selected because of the idea, spend some time learning the required skills, find help to basic doubts and keep learning. Once you gain confidence, you can send patches in regular intervals and see the response that comes from it. This will not only provide you an idea of how the organization works, but also build your self confidence. When you need help, do not be afraid to ask! This is the power of open source; it is a collaborative network where everything is sorted and support is perpetual. You can reach out to them via the messaging channel on the platform on which they exist (gitter/slack/IRC). Contribute until organizations are announced: By end of 3–5 months of contributions, you should have a glittery contributions chart on GitHub and a confident personality. By march the list of organizations selected for Google Summer of Code will be released. Go through the organizations and the projects they offer. Trim down your options and finalize on the ones you wish to spend your summer working for. Once your mind is set, work with full dedication towards the selected project(s), as doing so will give you a better chance to get shortlisted if you have been contributing for some time already. Make the proposal: This is the document that explains why you wish to work with a particular project of the organization and what impact/changes you wish to bring to it. Spend some time thinking about this, but ensure you send your proposal at the earliest, as it gives you more time to accept suggestions from mentors to make the proposal better. More feedback means a better proposal that fits the organizations goals. Yet, the golden rule remains the same: keep contributing even after you submit the proposal. It indicates your seriousness towards the program. Keep Contributing! : This is the step that many applicants tend to miss out. Submission of the proposal does not mean that your work is done. In fact you must double your contributions and effort towards the new project you have chosen as this creates a good impression about your pursuit to make the world of open source better :) Companies want students to contribute to their work, so if you prove your genuine interest, they will be more than happy to take you in.

Keep these tips in mind and execute it when the time is right. Always ensure there is a community to which you can go and clear your queries anytime. The key to getting into GSoC is progressive learning and regular contributions to the open source.