How can I prepare for Google Summer of Code 2017?

Well, I am just an absolute beginner and don't satisfy many of the prerequisites listed in the site. The kind of projects I'd like to focus on, are from organisations like The GNU Project, ReactOS, etc... I know the basics of C++ and Python. Am I under-qualified for this? Should I prepare more, and try next year? Or apply this year itself? I am open to any sort of tips, and suggestions.

Thanks! :)

P.S. I am open to learning new programming languages, and learn the pre-requisites too. But I am confused on which path to take, or follow.