The Application Process

Hi

I am in a dilema and am sure other went through this also. I come from a non-business background (commonly referred to Computer Sciences/engineering combination). I have enough experience working in various segments of this field and am looking into Business schools. My questions are:

1) I have started preparing for GMAT - plan to take in FEB - is it a good idea to apply as 3rd or 4th round candidate or go for early round/First round next year?

2) Which spealization should one go for - this relates to WHY MBA ? I can go on give many reason why I feel I need but the biggest is career change and advancement. So keepig this in mind - how do i anser why mba and also which segment of MBA (Finace/Marketing/Sales/Non-prodit/IT Management etc) - since i was never seriously exposed to any of these - how do i answer this question..or how does one find out what about each field?

3) which schools are good in which department etc. - I am getting links to overall ranking but not for each segment.

Thanks