Manipal does not in any way have a “bad reputation” though it is considered a bit different from the usual politician run private engineering colleges. My index of Bad reputation is like II*M, Am**y, L***ly University etc.
- It is one of the older and more established engineering and medical colleges – so parents are assured that they wont shut shop in six months or wont have faculty to teach.
- They have been offering a twining program for a long time now- where students go to US to do half their course. This has been a popular offering for my friends and family members who went to Manipal.
- They have good infrastructure in place
- Some students who go to Manipal end up drinking a lot. Not sure about the doping part. But yes, i have seen that once the Manipal gang starts drinking, there is no end.
- Usually people who go to Manipal are upper middle class – it is more expensive than other colleges. There is an entrance test but it only filters to an extent. Serious IIT aspirants dont even apply to Manipal because of the costs and the life it offers. But this sets the Manipal alumni for some comments later.