Thanks for the A2A. I partial dropped from BITS Pilani to IIT Bombay. So I guess I’m eligible to answer this question. I have used IIT Bombay as reference for comparison, but almost all these facts hold good for the other 4 top IITs (i.e. IIT D,K,M,Kgp) as well.
- Competition & intelligence: Both colleges attract top minds of the country. However, I found competition in IIT Bombay >>> BITS Pilani.
- Club activities: Cultural, Sports and Tech clubs are equally active and dynamic in both institutions. One thing unique to BITS Goa is the club outings (going to beaches/treks during the weekend to have fun and interact with other club members).
- Academics: 1st year schedule at BITS is much more hectic than that at IIT Bombay. There are more no. of courses and 6 day week in BITS. (IITB has 5 day week). Semesters are also roughly 20 days longer in BITS than IITB. IITB has tougher academics only because of the excessive competition (relative grading is bad xD), else the system here isn’t that hectic.