A valid excuse, for once: Some high school students will now be able to blame the computer for their low SAT scores.

About 4,000 students who took the main SAT college entrance exam last October received incorrectly low scores because of problems with the scanning of their answer sheets...

...[College Board spokeswoman, Jennifer] Topiel said the "vast majority of students" affected received scores that were within 100 points of their correct score on the three-section, 2,400-point test.

Admissions officials, however, said Tuesday some students had been affected by as much as 130 points -- forcing schools to scramble to re-evaluate candidates at a time when many are trying to make final decisions.