The standard of education and the institute's credibility can alone be determined by going through the rankings. So, I will be stating some highlights pertaining to the campus life at BIT Mesra, in general,

• BIT Mesra has an active club culture with more than 60 clubs promoting a number of extracurricular activities
• NIT Rourkela has the 2nd largest campus in India and is a great place to be at.
• The hostel life is also great with minimal restrictions at least for boys. 
• The mess is in close proximity to the hostel and the level of hygiene is commendable here. The mess follows a 4-meal per day system wherein Breakfast is served in the morning at around 7 -9.30 am, lunch at 12–1:30 pm, snacks at 5–6 pm, and finally dinner at 8–9:30 pm.
• Many night canteens run till 3 in the morning to cater to the midnight cravings of the students. 
• The institute is a heaven for sports lovers. It has facilities for almost every kind of sport like football, cricket, hockey, volleyball, basketball, and kabaddi.
• The internet connection facilities are however poor and this matter needs to be taken care of.

You will be surprised to know that my friends in other NITs keep complaining about the campus life there while I was very satisfied with the quality of campus life offered at NIT Rourkela. So, in addition to academics, NIT Rourkela also offers a vibrant college life!

One of my friends told me that these three institutes must be in this order like; IIIT A>>> NIT Bhopal>= NIT Rourkela. Although he was a student of NIT Rourkela.

He stated that between these three, Rourkela and Bhopal are more or less equal. However, both of these institutes consist of some advantages and disadvantages as well. 

If NIT Bhopal is considered and compared with NIT Rourkela, then it must be said that NIT Bhopal's strength is a large batch size; IT+CSE. But the main advantage of NIT Bhopal is the location and nearby airport transport facilities that conceal all the advantages of this institute. For this reason, NIT Bhopal experiences big recruiters every year, and NIT Rourkela misses this entirely. This is the reason why NIT Bhopal is one step ahead of NIT Rourkela.

However, at NIT Rourkela, M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) is almost similar to doing M.Tech in IITs. But in the case of Bhopal, the students can sit for placements for all the big companies in the campus recruitment process along with B.Tech companies. It will be better to avoid IIIT Allahabad for doing M.Tech in CSE, as placement opportunities in this institute are not good. This thing is that IIIT Allahabad does not allow M.Tech students to attend for placement in the on-campus recruitment process.

Thus, it can be stated that for the B.Tech course, IIIT Allahabad>> NIT Bhopal> NIT Rourkela.

Yes, there is an option for branch change after the first year at NIT Rourkela. The conditions for branch change vary depending on the specific program and the student's academic performance. Generally, students must attain a CGPA of 8.5 with no backlogs to be eligible for a branch change. 

Here is what the institute has officially declared regarding branch change:

All B. Tech, Int. MSc and BTech- MTech dual degree students who have secured a GPA of 8.5 or more (without any backlog) at the end of the first year are eligible for a branch change given they fulfill the following criteria 

• Change of branch will depend on the availability of vacant seats. Also, the vacancy created in the branch you are changing from should not be more than 5% of the actual existing strength.
• The 5% of vacancy is calculated on the basis of the existing strength. 
• Once you have changed your branch, you cannot go back to your old branch.
• The only criteria for branch change is GPA and in case of a tie in the same, the JEE Main rank will be given preference.

Additionally, students may also be required to participate in an interview or other selection process. 

One of my cousins is currently studying at NIT Rourkela and shared a few worrisome things about the institute that affected her learning experience 

• NIT Rourkela is surprisingly underestimated and does not get the fame it deserves. Only its students can get an idea of its incredibility.
• Usually on Sundays, the campus witnesses a power cut from 8 AM to 5 PM. 
• The attendance policies are very rigid and a minimum of 87.5% attendance is required. 
• Rourkela does not have connectivity through flight. This makes traveling difficult for the students and also limits the number of recruiters.
• The clubs are underfunded and therefore their performance is not very good.
• The library is poorly stocked. It does not have books that are more important to students while exam preparations.
• The institute has an overly secured campus with a large number of security forces.
• The campus is overly large and one cannot travel by foot. You need to have a bicycle, to save time and energy.

However, the above-mentioned points aren’t very crucial and don’t affect the learning process directly. So it’s better to overlook them and focus on the bright side of the institute.