The Washington Post explains collegeboard.com crash

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from The Washington Post article "Internet posting of SAT scores proves too popular: students meet with frustration after major crash of overwhelmed College Board web page" by Jay Matthews, printed today, Oct. 23.

Senior Dan Cate was cited in an article in The Washington Post today, Oct. 23, regarding the collegeboard.com crash. The story featured students who had unsuccessfully tried to access their SAT scores from the Oct. 9 exam through collegeboard.com.

The page had crashed because of particularly heavy traffic, according to The Washington Post, and students and parents attempting to access the site viewed an error message, explaining that "exceptionally high usage" had caused "technical difficulties."

Some students, including Cate, were able to obtain their scores early Friday morning, prior to the crash. Others paid a fee via credit card to call the College Board headquarters in New York to listen to their scores over the phone. The number to call is 1-800-728-7267. Those unable to pay may have to wait until the scores are mailed if the online services are not completely fixed.

The crash came at a crucial time for many seniors, who took the test in hopes of increasing their score from the spring of their junior year and of determining where they should apply to college, said The Post. The scores are especially important for seniors applying early decision who must meet the Nov. 1 deadline.

As of Friday night, some students were able to obtain scores, but the site was extremely slow. Kristin Carnahan, a spokeswoman for the College Board, told The Post that technicians were aware of the problem and suggested it would be fixed by today.