If you’re talking in terms of peer group or academic rigor or the overall academic aspect, some of the older IIT’s and NIT’s definitely would be a better choice since they have a much better set-up. Also the fact that they have a lower acceptance rate and a harder entrance exam helps them in a few ways. But in terms of facilities or opportunities to flourish, I don’t think VIT is very far. They have decent labs and are slowly promoting a lot more project based learning modules. Over the past few years, VIT students have also successfully used the platform provided to them to start new ideas/concepts and have even gone on to seek admission into Ivy League schools.
In terms of placement, I think VIT is amongst the best that there is. Year in, year out, even with increasing class strength, they somehow manage to place almost every student who registers for placement in one company or the other. The average pay package is obviously lesser compared to “some” IIT’s and NIT’s but a large number of reputed companies come for recruitment. You need to understand that the older IIT’s and NIT’s (Trichy/Surathkal and the like) have built a strong brand reputation which at times helps their students to bag huge pay-packages, but even there, the average salary is not as glamorous as that of those who attain salaries > 20 lacs. VIT has a lot of scope for improvement and if the management proceeds in a correct path, it “could” become one of the best private colleges in India