English Lit/Creative Writing COSC Degree Plan Creation (input welcome)

[Corvus]

Hello,

My name is Cody, and I'm currently working on achieving a degree involving
either English Literature or Creative Writing from Charter Oak State College.
My goal is to test out of everything possible and take online courses only when
testing isn't an option.

I have currently taken 30 credits worth of FEMA Independent Study, and just
sent off the transcript request for them. I will have a few other low level credits from
other institutions but the bulk is from FEMA so I still have a lot of upper level credits
to acquire. I will be taking the English Lit GRE Subject Exam in April to add to the
credits acquired as well.

I've perused the forum here and it seems a few others have taken similar undertakings but
is there anyone with advice they would like to impart as a "I wish I would have
know this when I started" or "These people/resources helped me out the most"? Involving both
study methods/resources for the English Lit GRE (I have been using the Princeton Review study guide),
ideas on the degree plan, and order of tests. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

I am going to speak with an adviser soon on the best order of CLEP, DSST, and online courses,
but until then I wanted to see if anyone here had any input.


Thank you for your time,

Cody

Post Script: Thanks to Old Rusty Pipe for explaining the methodology and logistics of using
this forum and introducing me to the idea of a nontraditional degree course for a
nontraditional degree seeker.

Degree Plan Progress:
30 FEMA
18 English Lit GRE Subject Test (pending April)
?20? Low level credits from traditional courses.

[Tedium]

Whereabouts in Louisiana are you, if you don't mind? And what type of creative writing interests you? I'm still trying to talk myself out of an MFA. It's a small world.

I'm attending COSC for an English degree. The real problem is going to be getting upper level credits. Assuming you pass your GRE, you will get 3 UL credits. You will get 3 UL credits in your concentration from your Capstone course. That leaves you with 12 UL left for your concentration. You will also need 12 UL credits that do not have to be in your concentration.

Really, there is no way to test out of UL English credits except with the GRE, so you are going to have to take classes anyway. That works out better if you were planning on going to grad school for your MA or MFA because you'll have classes with actual grades to show them.

Four institutions I would use for that credit:
CSU-Pueblo - English > Division of Continuing Education > Colorado State University-Pueblo
University of Idaho - English-Independent Study in Idaho-University of Idaho
Adams State University - English Courses - Distance Learning - Extended Studies - Adams State University
Brigham Young University - University Online Course Catalog - BYU Independent Study

We'll break down the concentration the way COSC does:
Introduction to Literature - Engl. 130: Introduction to Literature (CSU-Pueblo)
Survey Brit. Lit. 1 or 2 - GRE Subject, or if you fail that or decide not to take it use CLEP English Lit.
Survey Amer. Lit. 1 or 2 - GRE Subject or CLEP Amer. Lit.
Non-Western Lit. - Unfortunately, we don't have a whole lot of options for this one. Eng. 302 at COSC will satisfy this.
Literary Theory - Eng. 480 at Adams will be your cheapest bet. It is print based, though. Eng. 251 at BYU might work if you need an online course.
Literature of Diversity - I am in the process of trying to figure out how to satisfy this. I am going to try to use Eng. 354: Women Writers in Science Fiction at CSU-Pueblo, but I have not gotten confirmation that it's acceptable. Eng. 365 at Adams might work too.
Shakespeare - Eng. 4476 at U of Idaho. I'm enrolled now, and am liking it so far.
Lit. Electives - I'm actually not sure where COSC dumps the 15 LL credits from your GRE. I always assumed it was here. Talk to your advisor. If not, it won't be too hard to fill.

The 12 UL credits outside of your concentration are easy enough to get. Pick some DSSTs and ECEs that you can stomach and have a blast. If you're a history fan, Civil War and Soviet Union DSSTs should be right up your alley. I studied for those until I realized I didn't need the credits. World Conflicts and Social Psychology ECEs were fun to study for, though the wording on the exams was atrocious. Or you could even take some more distance learning English courses.

That's the hard part. Use any other degree plan to knock out your Gen. Ed. courses, if your haven't already. You can poke around the forum or wiki and get some ideas. COSC Degree Plans - Degree Forum Wiki

As with anything, make sure that you clear any of these with your advisor first. That will save you wasted time and money. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.