western Europe since 1945 or soviet union next??

[shelbaline4]

I just took the Western Civ II CLEP today and thankfully passed and now want to take Western Europe since 1945 and The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union. I am pursing a BA in History at TESC and wanted to take these before going on to US History among others. I figured that it would best to take this since I would assume some material overlaps and I wanted to take them before I start losing some of the knowledge I gained from Western Civ II. ANy advice on which would make more sense to do first? I also am considering taking Intro to World Religions, does that have any overlap to these exams mentioned? Also, World Conflicts since 1900 Excelsior exam? My brain does not retain information the same way it did when I was 20 (I am now 40) so I am concerned that if I leave too much of a gap between subjects that I will forget what I just studied.