Here are some advantages of both, KMC Manipal and KMC Mangalore-

Advantages of KMC Mangalore-

1. It is attached to three government hospitals- Lady Goschen (for OBG), Wenlock (for other specialties, except pediatrics), and RAPCC (for pediatrics). So you’ll get to see a variety of patients. You may work on 100+ cases during your OPD days. You’ll also get to see how differently government and private hospitals work.
2. Mangalore has all the travel facilities- flight, bus, train, and even ship.
3. You can access malls, good restaurants and other such luxuries in Mangalore.
4. The Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations are worth waiting for.

Advantages of KMC Manipal-

1. It has a state-of-the-art library.
2. You’ll enjoy campus life, and meet students from different countries and streams (Engineering, Hotel Management, Visual Media, etc).
3. KMC Manipal is a much bigger brand.

I really had an amazing time at KMC Mangalore. If you want more clinical exposure, stay at KMC Mangalore. The theory classes are at par in both. As a KMC student, if you are among the top 8 for the first 2 years, you’ll get the opportunity to attend a month-long externship in the Netherlands. 

Both IMC Manipal as well as Mangalore have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. In terms of academics, both colleges are almost similar with some of the most experienced teachers, and excellent clinical exposure. The only major difference you will see is that KMC Mangalore has a dispersed campus so you have to travel through a city while you study. Mangalore therefore offers a more flexible life and offers an environment that helps you become a more independent person. 

I would recommend Kasturba Medical College even over Government Institutes for MBBS training.

There are a few common differences between KMC Mangalore and KMC Manipal

1. KMC Manipal offers an amazing campus life because it’s a student hub where a lot of students from different colleges of MAHE study.
2. It has Asia's largest library, consisting of 4–to 5 floors with a separate research section as well.
3. Mangalore campus has better clinical exposure because it has many hospitals, three of which are government. 
4. Manipal has an amazing campus with more advanced microscopes and lab equipment.
5. You have easy access to everything in Manipal be it your college, your labs, or your hospital. 
6. Connectivity is easier in Mangalore. All you need to do is to take a 2-hour long cab ride from Mangalore. 
7. All the major fests like Utsav happen in Manipal.
8. There is a separate campus for the first years.

AIQ for the Manipal campus is always higher than the Mangalore campus. KMC Manipal AIQ cutoff for the general category is 72304.

My friend was an MBBS Student at KMC Mangalore, so here are some highlights of the institute

• The clinics are well-equipped and the patient lod is also decent.
• Enjoys a good reputation among the medical colleges in India.
• It’s bad one private hospital, KMC Attavar, and one Super specialty hospital, KMC Jyothi Circle
• The workload is a lot because the hospital is completely managed by residents and interns. You will be responsible for everything from OPD to file maintenance to rounds to sample collection. 
• Students are required to be proficient in each case early in the morning as they will be enquired about every patient that they are allotted
• You have to update treatment and paperwork, attend class, and be ready to present short bedside cases.
• PG students have to attend a theory class in the morning and in the afternoon twice a week, there is short group teaching, with the presentation. 
• Students need to learn basic Kannada without which you won’t be able to interact with patients. 
• The hostel facilities are great and Mangalore is a city of students so it won’t be difficult to find good food at low prices, beaches, bars, clubs, malls, etc
• Mangalore is a port city so it's better connected than Manipal. 
• There is a dual rating system wherein the professors rate the students, and students rate the professors. This helps the college to keep a check on the quality of education and improve energy year.

It will definitely be a great choice if you choose KMC Mangalore.

These are the books I and my peers used as KMC Mangalore MBBS students-

For first year-

1. Anatomy : Gray’s (Recommended); B.D. Chaurasia; Netter’s Atlas (must have). 
2. Physiology : Guyton (Recommended); A.K.Jain (not as good as Guyton); Manipal Manual of Physiology (only to pass, last resort). 
3. Biochemistry : Satyanarayan; Beena Shetty (only to pass, last resort).
4. Embryology : Inderbir Singh
5. Neuroanatomy : Snell (For Neuroanat).

For second year-

1. Pathology: Robbin’s (This is the only book you need for this subject).
2. Microbiology: Ananthanarayan(Fungus, Virus and Immunology is really good). 
3. Pharmacology : Tripathi (Massive, but required for entrance); Shanbag (only to pass).
4. Forensic Medicine and Toxicology : Pillai (Really good book on this subject).

For third year-

1. Community Medicine : Park 
2. Ophthalmology: Khurana (Last minute study)
3. ENT : Dhingra

For fourth year:

1. Medicine : Davidson (MUST HAVE, MUST READ); Harrison; Archit Sir (this book is really helpful). For Practical - Macleod’s. Some students use Harrison or Arup Kumar Kunda (this book helps with probable viva questions).
2. Surgery : Bailey (The BIBLE of Surgery); SRB. Some students use Clinical Pearls of Surgery
3. OBG : Dutta ( Always for Obstetrics); Sheila
4. Gyn - Shaws( Recommended)
5. Pediatrics : Ghai and class notes
6. Orthopedics : Maheshwari.

These books are used by MBBS students at KMC.