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What Is a GSoC Slot?

A slot is basically a position for a student in GSoC.

  • Each slot means one student can be accepted to work with that organization.
  • If an organization has 5 slots, they can accept 5 students.
  • Each slot corresponds to one approved project.

Think of it like tickets for a concert — only students with a “slot” can participate officially.

How Many Slots Does an Organization Have?

  • Google decides how many slots each organization gets every year.

  • The number varies depending on:

  • Past participation – if the org successfully mentored students before, it usually gets more slots.

  • Mentor availability – more active mentors = more slots.
  • Organization capacity – how many projects they can realistically support.

  • Project quality and size – big, complex projects may reduce slots.

  • Typical range: 2–20+ slots, but some large orgs can get more.

Example:

  • Mozilla Firefox: 15 slots
  • Django: 5 slots
  • Small org: 2 slots

How Google Gives Slots to Organizations

  1. Organizations apply in January

  2. They submit their history, number of mentors, project ideas, past performance.

  3. Google evaluates:

  4. Success of past students

  5. Number of mentors available
  6. Capacity to guide students

  7. Quality of proposed projects

  8. Slots are assigned

  9. Once announced in February, the organization knows how many students they can select.

Important: Organizations cannot exceed the slots given by Google. So even if 20 students want to work with an org with only 5 slots, only 5 can be selected.

Why Slots Matter

  • It determines how competitive an org is.
  • Few slots → more competition, harder to get in.
  • Many slots → slightly higher chances, but still depends on your contributions and proposal.

Tip: Don’t only look at slot numbers — small orgs with fewer slots can be easier if you contribute early and show trust.