I am willing to persue a PhD degree in Northern Europe (mostly in Scandinavia). So, I take advice from differen professors of my university.

The exact question I asked was:

I want to complete my PhD degree in a Scandinavian Country

Some of them told me that it does not matter where I want to go. Others told me that it changes with respect to the region I want to go.

I was ready to be satisfied with only one common advise, however, most of them told me completely different expectations.

They can be summarized as:

1. Cumulative GPA should be 4.00/4.00.
2. You should publish a conference paper.
3. You must publish a journal paper in a mediocre journal.
4. Most important thing is getting very good reference letters.
5. It is just luck. You should give every university a try.
6. They mostly look at your cover letter.
7. You should find someone that you know from that university. He/she should advise you.

Are these sentences professors' own expectations? Or are some of them completely true?

Or...
Should I take all of them into consideration?

I am willing to pursue a PhD degree in Northern Europe (mostly in Scandinavia). So, I take advice from differen professors of my university.

The exact question I asked was:

I want to complete my PhD degree in a Scandinavian Country

Some of them told me that it does not matter where I want to go. Others told me that it changes with respect to the region I want to go.

I was ready to be satisfied with only one common advise, however, most of them told me completely different expectations.

They can be summarized as:

1. Cumulative GPA should be 4.00/4.00.
2. You should publish a conference paper.
3. You must publish a journal paper in a mediocre journal.
4. Most important thing is getting very good reference letters.
5. It is just luck. You should give every university a try.
6. They mostly look at your cover letter.
7. You should find someone that you know from that university. He/she should advise you.

Are these sentences professors' own expectations? Or are some of them completely true?

Or...
Should I take all of them into consideration?

To sum up:
I am pursuing a PhD in Scandinavia. What should I do? Are the expected qualifications same as US or Asian countries?