Hey Snazzlefrag,
I'm a newbie here, and I've read enough of your excellent advice in other posts to feel somewhat hesitant to disagree with you, but I wanted to point out one thing for joel:
I do agree with the point you made about the annual fees for EC, and the need to wait until you've taken enough credits to knock out the degree in a year. However; I started with EC while only having a few credits, and I still plan on completing my BS in General Business by the end of the year. It's perfectly doable (as I'm sure I don't have to tell you), provided that you dedicate the time needed to study and keep a steady test schedule going. I work anywhere from 60-70 hours a week consistently, and my days are quite literally - "Wake up, work, work some more, work late, go home and study, talk to the significant other on the phone for an hour, go to bed" for six days out of the week. That seventh day though... It's all about the CLEP tests..
My only worry with holding off before enrolling is all the new requirements that EC is coming out with. They seem to be adding mandatory classes (IC, BP, ect) to their degree plans. They've been pretty good about allowing those students who are already enrolled to seek alternate paths for those classes. Because of this, I'll still be able to keep my graduation date (barring any unforseen developments). If I had to take a full semester worth of classes though.. Well I have no idea when I'd get that degree.