A study was undertaken of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program to estimate the extent of errors made by participants and the impact of the errors on program expenditures. A sample of BEOG applicants was asked to verify the data provided on applications. Then their financial aid records and related institutional computations were examined for verification. Response rates were 87 percent for the student/parent interviews and 100 percent for institutional data. Although the amount of data available for each student varied considerably, efforts were made to verify information carefully. Key errors were found in these areas: (1) filing as dependent versus independent student; (2) net over-awards of 10.5 percent of program expenditures, and dollar award errors (under- and over-awards) of 22.5 percent of program expenditures; (3) significant random error, with only small amounts of fraud or abuse; and (4) institutional errors amounting to $169 million, with the highest error rate in proprietary schools and the lowest in private institutions. It is concluded that the general error level justifies a thorough reevaluation of the BEOG delivery system, since it appears to be a comolex error-prone system. Actions for improvement are proposed for the student and institutional sectors. (MSE)