A software engineer with five years of work experience, Nikhila started at 345, with Q60 and DI60. On the GMAT Focus Edition she scored 755 (V90 Q88 DI84), a 410-point improvement. Here are the 4 areas she fixed, and how you can check yours for free.
Started at 345→755Verbal 90Quant 88Data Insights 84
Free in Scholaranium: see your accuracy on hard questions, then fix it the way Nikhila took Quant from Q60 to Q88.
GMAT+410 points
345→755
V90 · Q88 · DI84
Nikhila
345 → 755
her start to her GMAT Focus score
+410
points gained
Q60 → Q88
in Quant, with DI60 → DI84
46 hours
saved by skipping topics she already knew
Hear it from Nikhila
The full interview, in her words
What changed
The 4 areas Nikhila improved
Each one started the same way: find the exact weak spot, then fix it with a plan. Check the same areas in your own prep, free.
1
Quant
Let the diagnostics pick her weak topics, and saved 46 hours
Q60→Q88
PACE diagnostic quizzes scored her topic by topic, so she skipped the Algebra she already knew and put the time into Number Properties and Word Problems.
Small modules, such as HCF and LCM, that she could finish in one sitting instead of facing all of Number Properties at once.
Every module ran the same way: concept files, a quiz with full solutions, then a quiz with no solutions.
Hard accuracy on cementing quizzes: 70% in Word Problems, 75% in Algebra.
"I knew that I was good at algebra going into the course. I wasn't very good at number properties or even word problems. So it was a confirmation that I needed to target my prep to tackle these particular topics."Nikhila
2
Data Insights
"Owned" each data set before answering, and stopped going back and forth
DI60→DI84 · 98th percentile
Before: jumped straight into the questions with a surface-level read, made silly mistakes and kept going back to the graph.
After: spent a couple of seconds on each graph and gave every data point a one-line story.
A story is easier to hold in your head than raw numbers, so she answered faster with less than half the mistakes.
"Once I had a story for the graph, I was able to retain more of that information, and when I went to the answers I didn't have to go back to the graph for everything."Nikhila
3
Verbal · Critical Reasoning
Pushed through the CR plateau until the patterns clicked
Stuck after 50–60 CR questions→V90, a perfect Verbal
Kept practising, hundreds of questions, even when her accuracy did not move.
Kept an honest error log of why each question went wrong, across Quant, Verbal and DI.
About three weeks before the exam, the trap answers and the right answers started to look different.
"Three weeks before my exam, if you asked me how I was doing at CR, I would say I was doing horribly. Something around that three-week mark changed."Nikhila
4
Test day
Planned the section order around her test anxiety
Worse-than-average test anxiety→Calm five minutes in
Started with Verbal, her strongest section, so the first questions would settle her nerves.
Took the break after section 1, because Verbal and DI both need heavy focus.
Her mentor checked her mocks and confirmed they were a good predictor of her real score, so she walked in confident.
"Maybe 5 minutes into my verbal section, after I'd seen two questions and I felt like I had gotten them right, I think it settled down my anxiety."Nikhila
Her test-day plan
The section order that kept her calm
1
Verbal first
Her strongest section. Two right answers in the first five minutes, and the nerves were gone.
2
Break after section 1
Verbal and DI are both heavy reading, so she took the 10-minute break early to reset.
3
Data Insights second
DI needs the most focus, so she took it while she still had it.
4
Quant last
With the energy she had left, Quant was still doable. DI would not have been.
Start where she started
Get free lessons on Quant | Verbal | DI
Q
Quant
Short concept modules and practice quizzes, the same structure Nikhila used to go from Q60 to Q88.
V
Verbal
A method for Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension, plus an error log to track how your thinking changes.
DI
Data Insights
Learn to own the data set: read graphs and tables once, then answer without going back and forth.
Next up for you
Try what Nikhila used, free for 10 days
No credit card. Sign in with Google or your email and start in under a minute.
15+ hours of video lessons
1,000+ practice questions
8 mocks: 2 full-length + 6 sectional
Personalized study plan
Chat with a mentor
7 live webinars
Her keys to a 755
What she would tell you before you start
Trust the process
Improvement can come late. Her CR clicked three weeks before the exam.
Keep an honest error log
It hurts when accuracy is low, but it shows you how your thinking changes.
Build your stamina
Do 20 to 25 questions in one sitting, the way the real test feels.
There is a point where you're like, I can't believe that I was making these mistakes three weeks ago. But that's the beauty of it.
Nikhila, GMAT Focus 755 · started at 345 · V90 Q88 DI84
Your turn
Your +410 starts with one sectional mock
Nikhila's jump began with knowing which topics to fix and which to skip. Find yours in about 45 minutes, free.
e-GMAT
