What are your reviews of Manipal Institute Of Technology (Manipal)?

One of my friends is pursuing her 4th year in Mechanical Engineering from this college. 

The table below shows a brief description of the institute:

Following points are based on her experience in 3 years of engineering course at the institute:

1. General life - As far as a life apart from academics is concerned, this is a great college. This college has a bundle of options from student clubs to proper technical clubs.
2. Sports- The sports scenario is quite interesting. They have two semi-professional teams in Cricket and Football (MIT Cricket League and MIT Football League). There is tough competition here.
3. Food - Manipal has two Mexican restaurants. You get several options and 9/10 you won't be disheartened with the gastronomy in Manipal. The mess of the College is far better than the ones in any other engineering college.
4. Bars and recreation - The age-old belief that Manipal is known for its partying and drugs and alcohol is unfortunately true. There are plenty of temptations because everything is easily available to the students here. But it ultimately depends on the individual itself.
5. Academics- The faculty for Mechanical and Civil is very liberal and knowledgeable. Education is more marks driven. The labs are not in a good stage (especially mechanical and civil).
6. Placements- The placements are not good at Manipal. The companies are not frequent and pay pretty low packages. Majority of students can land an average job. The college is really uncooperative and does not care about the quality of the companies arriving. The number of core companies is reducing and the student intake is significantly increasing.

Overall, Manipal does not fare well given their placement scenario is not up to the mark. But the college helps students in preparing for higher studies. This becomes a huge advantage for the students wanting to pursue higher education.