Boston, March 5 (Reuters): A computer hacker helped applicants break into records at some of the most prestigious US business schools to see if they were accepted weeks before official offers were sent out, officials said yesterday.

A person who applied to Harvard Business School posted instructions on how to check the application status at several business schools, including Stanford, Duke and Dartmouth, on Business Week?s online technology forum this week.

Roughly 100 people who applied to Harvard followed the directions, but many did not learn their fate since decisions had not been entered into the computer yet. Harvard?s next batch of acceptances will be sent out later this month.