You should research the schools that you want to go to and find out what scholarships they give out. There will generally be a description of the type of things they look for in an applicant. it's generally not just a high GMAT score alone e.g. you probably also need leadership and extra-curricular ...

It depends on where you're from, gender of recommender and your budget. Wine or alcohol of some sort is always the safe bet. Or perhaps dinner at a really nice restaurant or day spa treatment if a girl. Personally, the other guy in my office gave our managers wine. Given I also used the same manager...

Take risks probably means starting a business as opposed to getting a MBA. Getting a MBA is a risk averse move. But truth be told, the fact that you're on here asking the type of questions you are asking suggests you aren't a self starter and would not make a good entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs just do...

None. They give you plenty of work to do each week.

There's more than enough material from MGMAT to keep you occupied - you will not need more. If you do, you are studying incorrectly.

I used MGMAT exclusively.

At the end of the day, it's better than nothing and serves as another data point to prove that you have the mental dexterity to handle the challenges of the MBA. Assuming you have the time and the other parts of your application are strong, then I don't see why you shouldn't take these classes to bo...

i keep second guessing what my recommenders wrote

Was your primary role as department head to sell or to manage? If to sell, then its sale, if to manage, then general management. They can cross-reference with your resume - they cant fault you for making a best guess based on limited information (it's not like they defined it). If they pull you up o...

It would be a more solid example if you took extra classes after graduating to build what you yanks call an alternative transcript. Then at least there are a couple of instances that you can point too since graduating when you had to juggle academic and other commitments. More data points for proof....