Academic Structure

Manipal: Rigorous curriculum, has 2 open electives and six program electives. Limited flexibility as of now (2016). Each major allows a minor specialisation based on the program electives chosen. MIT Manipal is introducing minors soon, although I can’t confirm when.

VIT: Rigorous curriculum, and has a Fully Flexible Credit System. I’ve heard that the FFCS can be a boon or a bane, but for the purpose of this discussion, I’ll assume it’s a pro. VIT also offers minors in the engineering disciplines, and their own version of a “double major”, where they allow you to major in one engineering and one management field.

Note: Both of these universities have academically rigorous curricula. The difference is in terms of flexibility.

Faculty

Can’t comment on this, only someone who has attended both can compare them. From what I’ve heard, both of them have professors ranging from great to mediocre.

Student Population

Manipal: Annual intake of about 1800 students. Lower population, less crowded, better faculty to student ratio.

VIT: Annual intake of about 3600 students. If Quora posts are anything to go by, I’ve heard that VIT is getting a bit overcrowded.

Campus Life

Manipal: More liberal atmosphere, less restrictive rules. There are a couple of beaches nearby.

VIT: More restrictive place, with a few strict rules . Especially tough towards girls.

Proximity to cities

Manipal: Closest city is Mangalore, which is about an hour and a half away. Bangalore is about 9 hours away.

VIT: The closest cities are Chennai and Bangalore, so they are more easily accessible.

Hostels

Manipal: I’ve heard they’re better than a lot of colleges in India. Rooms are pretty great, with plenty of options available. Hostel fees are higher.

VIT: Heard they were overcrowded in some cases, generally described as “okay”. Lower hostel fees.

I suggest that you take vit because i am from vit,chennai and i can vouch that your college life is going to be great if you focus on academics and culturals