Hey guys...

I would like to do an MBA starting next year. My background is in information technology, and I would like to use an MBA to continue to work in IT, but more strategically.

I have heard that Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) has good curriculum for IT professionals (including a concentration in Information Systems.)

Is this a good school to aim for? Or should I aim for a higher ranked school like Duke or Cornell and do a general MBA instead?

What do you mean by "work more strategically"? What sort of roles would you like to focus on? Product strategy?

Well, mainly, I've been working in project management roles at a large computer company, and I'd like to build on that. So I was thinking about higher-level roles such as a technology business unit leader, or an technology portfolio manager (with my end goal being a CTO or chief digital officer.)

Honestly, I think these are all strong choices. If you're already working in tech then you probably will find it more useful to focus on the general management side of the MBA, since you're have a good understanding already of the strategic use of IT. Using this approach http://www.find-mba.com/board/33571 it seems that it might be Fuqua > Cornell > Tepper. Fuqua and Cornell certainly have similarly large alumni networks in technology, and in project management more broadly: remember that Tepper has always been a small school. I suspect Duke has slight big advantage with the big vendors in the Triangle, but both it and Cornell have good networks in firms like Microsoft, IBM, SAP and Cisco.

Personally, I think I'd pick Fuqua: slightly higher salaries, more diversity, better climate, more jobs in the region... but Johnson has a higher GMAT and older students.

Have you taken your GMAT yet? Depending on what your score is you might want to target MIT Sloan as well. It has good salary stats and decent placements in IT and MIS positions.

No real IT concentration to speak of, but a decent selection of IT-related electives... Plus, its Cambridge location is pretty ideal for tech-related networking, jobs, etc.

No, I haven't taken the GMAT yet. MIT has a good program, I've heard good things about it. But it's ranked lower than Cornell and Duke in the Business Week rankings - wouldn't those actually be better choices?

I put more stock in the FT rankings - its rankings criteria seem to be more rigorous than Businessweek.

In any case the FT ranks Sloan much higher than the others , and it has better stats in general (graduate salary, especially.)

Not to mention the university's strong technology tradition, which manifests in some tech-oriented electives and dual-degree programs.

Honestly, as a life long investment MIT will always out-perform Cornell and Duke. I mean... it's MIT!