Hmm... NITs r way ahead of manipal... firstly NITs r govt cllgs... and the infrastructure n faculty is bttr than the private insti (m talking bout top NITs.. warangal,surathkal,trichy,alld,jaipur,bhopal,ngp) ..
moreover,dnt think civil is a low grade branch, n cs/ece is a gud branch... i dnt knw why its a trend among the aspirants to opt for the cs/it or ece... why nt the core branches.. core branches involve the real engg... m nt saying cs/ece is bad... but i will prefer core (civil/mechanical/electrical) more than these!! u might nt be knwing...software firms, recruit ppl frm non-cs/ece branches also...bt thats not vice-versa!!
i will advice u to go for civil at NITs.. it will benefit u in the long run..cuz civil engg will be really in gr8 demand in cuming few yrs!!