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Buck the $ystem

What every UO student should know about beating the 4 or 5-year degree system.

This June, after only three years of college, I will be graduating. I have never taken an overload or a summer term. I am also earning my B.A. without taking a single college-level foreign language course. Impossible, you say? No, it's not. You can do it too and I'm going to tell you how.

Of course, there will always be those who actually want to stay the full traditional four or five years. To them I say: Fine. Stay the whole time. Put yourself into debt $10,000 more than you need to. But every time you wince as you write a loan payment check several years from now, don't say I didn't tell you how to avoid it.

For those who are serious about saving money and getting on with the rest of their lives, keep reading.

The first step is to change the way you think about the graduation requirements. Have you ever said, "I need this class to graduate"? Of course. People say it all the time. I'm here to tell you that no, you don't need that course to graduate. You need to fulfill the requirement that course represents. The course itself is only the University's recommendation of a way you can meet that requirement. There are other, much cheaper ways.

Consider the writing requirement for a moment. WR 121 and either 122 or 123, right? Two terms of torture and about $608 (assuming an Oregon resident with a 16-credit load). The UO Testing Center can help you make the entire writing requirement disappear at a total cost of two coherent essays and $6. Congratulations, you just saved yourself $602 and your sanity by taking the waiver exams. Failing that, the Portland State University Independent Study Credit-by-Exam program gives you a chance to actually earn the credit (as opposed to merely waiving the requirement) for a slightly higher cost of two essays, basic grammar knowledge and $125--all by mail. The credit is fully transferable, just as if you had taken the class itself. Many other universities, both in and out of Oregon, have similar programs. Also, don't forget that sufficiently high SAT, AP or IB scores can be used for writing exemptions as well.

See? There are several time-saving and dirt-cheap ways to skin the academic cat. And that's just the writing requirement. It gets even better. Read on.

If you took a foreign language through all your high school years, there is no reason why you should have to take it again in college. Unless you spent all those years staring at the walls and merely mumbling "Si" (or "Oui" or "Ja") at the appropriate moments, you should be able to pass your language's CLEP exam, earning 12 credits of the second-year sequence for a mere $50. CLEP, the College Level Examination Program, is the College Board's gift to mankind, probably to make up for the board's other creation, the SAT (read: the tests are really easy). The language tests are mostly multiple-choice with a small audio taped section where a native speaker talks slowly, repeats himself several times, and you need only to identify whether Babette went to "le office" or "la banque." Using a new computerized system, the UO Testing Center is able to administer CLEP exams practically on demand.

Not only does the CLEP do wonders for foreign language requirements, but it makes general education requirements disappear as well. General exams in broad areas like Natural Sciences and Humanities are open to students who have earned less than 90 credits. The resulting 12 credits apply directly to group requirements. Specific subject exams such as Biology or American History are also available, earning from four to 12 credits each. A list of the accepted exams is somewhere in the chaos, on the third floor of Oregon Hall, and the Testing Center can help out with exam descriptions, outlines and sample questions. Just like the foreign language exams, these CLEP exams are multiple choice and cost $50 a pop.

Another rarely-used avenue of gaining cheap credit is by challenging a course. This is like saying to a prof, "Give me the final exam right now." Although this is usually more difficult than CLEPing, it has its advantages if the subject area is something you are particularly strong in. For example, if you are a war buff, you might be able to successfully challenge a WWII or Civil War history course for about $40. Willingness to accept challenge petitions varies by department. The Writing Department, for example, doesn't accept WR 121, 122 or 123 challenges--just waivers and transfer credit. The only way to find out a department's policy is to ask. The paperwork is horrendous, but it can pay off. A handout about challenge procedures is somewhere in the third floor Oregon Hall vortex.

Correspondence courses sound like something only a recluse would be into, but they are useful in certain situations. Many programs allow 12 to 18 months to complete a correspondence course. So, if you hate Shakespeare with a passion, you can read him when you feel like it, instead of cramming it all into a single term and still be able to get full credit for the course. The majority, but not all, of correspondence courses are cheaper than regular tuition, so shop around. PSU offers a fair variety of correspondence courses, including upper-division business, English, geology and psychology. It's wise to check with the Registrar's Office before you sign up for a correspondence course to make sure it will transfer in correctly.

A more indirect way of saving money is by avoiding prerequisites. Prereqs are never set in stone and professors hold the magical ability to lift registration blocks on Duck Call. If you can hold an intelligent conversation with the prof, prove you know something about the subject and promise to work hard, your chances of getting into a class despite the prereq improve dramatically. Profs like eager students. A friend of mine managed to get into a doctoral-level Russian course during her sophomore year using this tactic.

Four credits here, 12 credits there, eight credits here--slowly it all begins to add up. Before you know it, you're a term or two or three ahead. Yeah, sure, you're a cheapskate, but just think how good it's going to feel to have all your student loans paid off before your friends do. You get the last laugh. Remember, it's your education--no one else's--so don't be afraid to take it by the balls and squeeze.

Navigating the Academic Thrift Store of Credit

• PSU Independent Study Office
  Inexpensive correspondence courses, WR 121 & 122 credit-by-exam.
  Call 1-800-547-8887 ext. 4865 for free course catalog.
  http://extended.portals.org/istudy/index.htm

• UO Testing Center
  Writing waiver exams, CLEP exams, proctoring for correspondence and challenge exams. Located behind the Student Health Center. Enter where it says "Counseling Center." Up the stairs, follow the signs. The receptionist is really nice.
  Call 346-3230 for more information.
  http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~testing

• Oregon Hall--3rd Floor
  Helpful handouts detailing passing scores and course equivalents for AP and CLEP exams. Another handout outlines exact procedures for course challenges. Be persistent; they will eventually rummage around and find the handouts.

• UO Undergraduate & Graduate Bulletin
  It's your bible. Read it. Live it. Among other things, it says that only 45 of your total credits are required to be in residence at the UO. Available at the Bookstore for a measly $5.

Leanne Nelms, a senior majoring in English, is a copy editor and staff writer for the Oregon Commentator