ALL students living in China and South Korea who took the SAT on Oct. 11 will have their test scores delayed and reviewed due to allegations of widespread cheating, officials from the U.S. College Board and its global test administration and security provider, Educational Testing Service (ETS), said.

    The allegations of cheating, which are “based on specific, reliable information,” according to the officials, could be held up for as many as four weeks, potentially excluding some students for “early decision” or “early action” admissions to U.S. colleges and universities. Each individual test score will be evaluated for evidence of cheating.

    “The College Board will make universities aware of the circumstances and can supply students with a letter to share with the schools to which they are applying,” ETS spokesman Thomas Ewing said, adding that even if test scores are delivered in November, they will be reported as October scores.

    Jeremiah Quinlan, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale, confirmed that “the administrative delay will not hurt the chance of admission for an individual applicant.”

    The College Board has faced cheating scandals in the past. In May 2013, the College Board canceled a scheduled exam in South Korea because of allegations of widespread cheating, affecting an estimated 1,500 students. That was the first time allegations of cheating affected an entire country.

    Students from China, India and South Korea now make up roughly 50 percent of the total number of international students in the United States, according to a 2013 Institute of International Education report. The number of Chinese students studying in the United States has increased by 20 percent every year since 2008.

    Under current rules, Chinese students without foreign passports must travel outside of the Chinese mainland to take admissions tests for U.S. universities. Those with foreign passports can take the test in China at international schools. (SD-Agencies)