The stress to get a high score on the SAT is enough to drive any sane high school student crazy. SAT scores are used to determine a high school student’s readiness for college, and their likelihood for success. The scores that arrived in the mailbox, however, might not have been correct. High school guidance counselors should share this information with their parents and students.

According to a story published on CNN.com, 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.

The College Board, which owns the exam, notified college admissions offices of the mistake and provided the proper scores for affected students in a letter received by some Tuesday afternoon. A College Board spokeswoman, Jennifer Topiel, said students would be notified by e-mail Thursday. Affected students will be refunded their fees from that sitting, the letter said.

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.

“For some this means a scholarship adjustment, for some it means admission to a more selective program within the school,” said Jacquelyn Nealon, dean of admissions and financial aid at New York Institute of Technology, where she said between 25 and 50 applicants were affected.

“We’ll pull all those folders tomorrow and reach out to any students,” she said. “For a school that processes tens of thousands of applications, this is major.”