A semester for me but that's only because I graduated from undergrad in the winter instead of the spring and had to wait until the following fall to enter grad school.

I just finished last year and in my experience it makes very little difference on whether you took a lot of time off or not. I saw equally successful and likewise equally lousy colleagues on both ends.

seven years off between UG & GS- one of best decisions i've ever made

To treekiller: I took about the same time off. I am much more focus just now entering Grad School. Can anyone work during grad school? I managed to while doing undergrad/studios etc .what the big deal?
I had cut back some weeks vs. others but I did it. Am I an exception?

In total i will be taking 2 years between undergrad and grad. Most of my friends are taking 1 year to work and they are getting accepted to their schools now.

One good thing about waiting is that you have more time to prepare your portfolio and study for the gre etc. Also you can learn from your friends mistakes with how their application process went. I'm looking forward to asking them lots of questions next year about their schools which will also help.

The bad...I really am antsy working right now and am jealous of all my friends going back to school and moving far away.

So basically, I would take a little time off 1-2 years no more.

I am taking 2 years off and might extend it to 3 if I don't get into the schools I want. I also think that a lot of req'd experience hurddles are set at 3 years. Taking care of some IDP isn't bad either.

It seems like most people take a year off. Was this the plan from the beginning or waiting out for better offers from schools you really wanted to go?

i had four years of work before returning to grad school and couldn't imagine taking any less time than that. i had several different jobs during that time, even a different career at one point, and got the chance to live in several different places.

i suppose that it isn't the same for everyone...but i would recommend taking enough time off to completely forget about school (and even architecture) for awhile before returning. for me there was something nice about getting lost...and then finding my way back to architecture.

I asked the director of our arch grad school what he thinks the ratio is roughly of students that come "right out of school" and ones that "took time to work"... he said about 1/3 of the applicants come right out of school and 2/3 come from having some work experience.

In my case I'm going straight into grad, its different for everyone. The most common advise is that your grad school should be something different and new from your undergrad. I plan on studying Urban Design though, different from my B.Arch. If you have had the chance to work during your schooling theres always a strong case for not wanting to lose momentum. I have heard that it is very hard to stop wanting those paychecks once you begin working.

It definitely is a case-by-case decision though.

I graduated with my BArch in 05. Plan on apply for 09. So it'll be 4 years for me and it's always my plan since day 1, well, may be not day 1, but since 2nd or 3rd year at college.
Even I'd graduated for almost 3 years, my momentum is still running high. Also, I think work and life experience would definitely help me to see and understand architecture in a different perspective. But I agree with Tartar Treats, it's a case-by-case decision, I plan on do more about theory/ urbanism research in gradurate school, in compare to design studio again.

took 3.5 years between degrees. long enough to save cash to pay rent tuition etc for grad school. everyone is different for sure but life experience makes architects better so def recommend it.

when i was looking to do phd my now-advisor started interview by saying he would not accept anyone who had not worked in office for a few years. he believes too much time in closet (university) makes for bad education and bad students. there are probably people out there for whom that pov is not applicable, but it makes sense to me...

i think most people take an entire career out, 2 to 3 years sounds pretty average.

I've seen time off between degrees both help and hinder some of my classmates. It depends entirely on the person and what their goals are.

27 years between barch and masters -- but i am a slow learner.

12 yrs out, here.

I'll let you know when I go back to grad school. I'm only about 8 years out so far. Should at least break the two decade mark.

4 years for me ... that amount of time in firms gave me a solid understanding of what practice is all about and helped crystalize my thinking about what specifically I wanted out of grad school.

I don't think I would have made nearly as good a decision about grad school if I had gone any sooner.

I've been out for 3 years and will be applying for Fall 2009 admissions. I'm speaking for myself here but it has been an absolutely great decision for me to take time off in between undergrad and grad for a number a reasons.

Briefly, I've learned invaluable lessons and aspects about design that, point blank, can not be taught in school but will absolutely benefit me in my graduate school studies. I am also more guided and directed with what I want to study and receive from grad school studies. Oh yea, getting IDP done is quite a relief as well.

I went straight into gradschool after undergrad, and now i wish i had taken some time off. Come to think of it, i think im going to take an indefinate time off and play professional sports.

why do you go to grad school just curious?

I am one year out of undergrad and working in the real world. I already greatly value the time I have taken away from school. I am much better focused and now know why I want to go to grad school now. Even if you've had experience in a firm, the reality of working full-time all year is an important realization which can help you determine where you see you see yourself in the profession.

Plus, you can get IDP hours done prior to a grad school education.

just wondering, particularly for those who have been working for 3+ years, who did you get to write your references?

i got the dept head of archi-school to write one, the principal of my office at the time to write one, and another from a fromer professorl.

i knew where i wanted to go and kept in touch with my profs so was pretty straightforward even after 3 years.

I'll be getting two professors and my daily supervisor to write my recommendations. Similar to jump, I've kept in touch with my professors so this won't be a problem.

5 year B Arch so didn't have to but it was STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to take a year out

and by strongly recommended i mean all bar 4 did, and those 4 all did erasmus, 1 has taken a year after erasmus. so yes. do it.

mostly, i think everyone has come back with a more realistic view of life as an architect, a better knowledge of technicalities, a broader view of the field and where they personally want to end up