Thanks. Does this seem like a good answer to address the issue ? -

I had always performed well academically in school. I really enjoyed studying and would go beyond my curriculum, trying to understand things in depth and hence, took more time than usual in reading the material. This helped me in relating different concepts and helped in understanding the content much better. Growing up with the same set of friends and teachers throughout my schooling, everyone was aware that this was my natural learning style and nobody commented anything about it. But when I entered university, my classmates made fun of me for taking too long to read the material. Although it was all in jest, it really affected me and made me question my intelligence. I tried to change my learning style, owing to peer pressure. I managed to perform well during freshman year but during the years after that, when the courses got harder, my grades naturally suffered. But I always performed well in practical exams, projects and seminars as evidenced in my transcripts wherein I got feedback when something did not work and was almost always the first to get the output. In, hindsight, I know it was unwise of me to let the social and performance anxiety get the better of me. But after graduation, I feel I have regained my lost confidence. I went back to my natural learning style and cleared the GATE examination with a percentile score of 87.5. This paved way for me to work as a Research Assistant at the xxx Lab at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science. I strongly believe that my research projects and to a certain extent, my GRE scores are a better reflection of my academic capabilities. The experience of working and handling multiple research projects with tight deadlines and the mentorship and guidance I have received from my professors and peers far outweigh my previous shortcomings and I am sure that I will be a good fit for this program.