This was literally me a year ago. High GPA, good public university. I was applying for masters programs with a professional rather than research based focus. I had one summer of relevant experience. I definitely was unsure of whether I should take a year or two off and work. I decided to apply because I felt confident in my desire to be in my field (urban planning) and knew I'd have to get a masters eventually. It was also the best way for me to move out of the Midwest (jobs in UP are more dependent on where you go to school than other fields) and I had a high enough GPA to be competitive.

I got full tuition scholarships to two top 10 schools (one public, one private). I'm definitely on the younger side based on the people I met at the schools when I visited. I think I had an advantage because urban planning undergrad + experience is pretty uncommon. My undergrad institution is also top 3 in planning for grad programs so the department has a pretty good reputation.

The advice is usually to wait but I think that it's okay to not wait in some cases. I do think that if someone has a significant amount of undergrad debt or would have to take out a lot of debt for grad school that it might be better to wait. Someone with a mediocre or barely above average GPA should also wait if they're aiming for top programs. If you want to do it then apply! But make sure to do your research about programs and cost.