Lemme give an unbiased answer,
Campus: Both MIT and VIT have one of the most beautiful campus in our Country. Size wise they score the same. But if the beauty outside the campus is considered, Manipal might just fair better. There are MANY beautiful places in and around manipal half of which I myself haven’t been to.
Life: Students of both the colleges enjoy their life to the fullest. Manipal might be little better if independence is considered. Mind you, I have friends in VIT and the rumours you hear are bullshit. VIT is strict. Which is important. And so is manipal. Maybe MIT isn’t as strict as VIT but that doesn’t mean u can’t enjoy there. My friends in NITK have way more freedom than us. They either have to come back by 10pm or not come back at all. In MIT, we have biometric. So we can’t do an all nighter that easily. Coming to fests. On an overall, both have one of the best cultural fests in the country. If Manipal has Revels then VIT has Riveria. Both colleges attract equally popular artists.
Higher studies: Both colleges have amazing scope for higher studies abroad. Equal percentage of people from both colleges get into equally good foreign universities.
Culture: I have seen many people say that MIT has amazing culture while in VIT, the north Indians are judged. This may or may not be true. But it’s not that South Indians in MIT feel all great all the time. MIT has a majority of North Indians. If u are a south Indian and u don’t know Hindi, u surely might feel alienated in a few situations.