Getting WE vs professors' fresh memory of you

[jisu]

I am due to graduate from my undergrad at the end of the year and am facing a dilemma between taking a year or 2 off to gain some more work experience or applying straight to grad school.

My concern for taking time off is that my professors will forget some of the details regarding how I have performed under their supervision and won't be able to talk about my academic ability more comprehensively in their letters of recommendation (ie. give specific examples).

What do you guys think?

[repatriate]

I am due to graduate from my undergrad at the end of the year and am facing a dilemma between taking a year or 2 off to gain some more work experience or applying straight to grad school.

My concern for taking time off is that my professors will forget some of the details regarding how I have performed under their supervision and won't be able to talk about my academic ability more comprehensively in their letters of recommendation (ie. give specific examples).

What do you guys think?

Tell your professors that you are thinking about graduate school. Ask their advice about what they would think of your application with and without additional work experience. Tell them that you might ask them for a letter of recommendation and ask if they would prefer to write one now (and file it with the school) or in a year or two, and ask what they would need when they write the letters (e.g., an email reminding them of what work you did for them and a current CV). Since professors write these letters all the time, many of them develop a system for doing them efficiently and well. The best thing you can do is find out what they prefer.