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.

As a student of KMC Manipal, I will list down some reasons for choosing this college-

1. The quality of education at KMC Manipal is at par with other top medical colleges of India.
2. It has a very good infrastructure, even better than PGI which is an elite institution.
3. You’ll get studious peers and dedicated faculty over here. Other than the curriculum, you’ll also be taught about all the latest developments in medicine.
4. You’ll get good clinical exposure.
5. KMC Manipal encourages undergraduate research. You can publish papers as a UG student too.
6. The college has good foreign exchange programs.
7. Your seniors will guide you on USMLE and PLAB. 
8. The coursework and teaching methodology is top-notch. With proper attention in class and routine revisions, you can get into AIIMS for your PG. Even for coaching, DAMS and Bhatia Classes are available near the campus. They hold weekend classes so your college studies won’t be affected.
9. The college and hospital are quite safe. The classrooms and hostels are filled with all the facilities. Extracurriculars form an important part of campus life.
10. The college is very strict regarding attendance, so you’ll grow into a disciplined doctor.
11. Unlike many government colleges, KMC Manipal doesn’t have a rural service bond.

But there are some disadvantages too-

Manipal is very expensive, and the PG seats are even more expensive. Getting a PG seat is very difficult because of extremely high competition.

You should choose KMC Manipal over an above average government college. But make sure you are fine with the above listed disadvantages. 

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. 

Without any second thoughts, choose KMC Manipal over HIMS Dehradun. Joining a private college is not considered very wise but it’s not in the case of KMC because 

• Its crowd quality is exceptionally good. It's an old college. 
• It’s one of the oldest private medical colleges and most Govt Colleges so it has come to establish a reputation of its own.
• It’s the only private medical college that has churned out so many generations of successful doctors.
• It offers excellent medical education and its fees are comparatively less than other private colleges. 
• The institute boasts of a well-equipped sports complex called MARENA.
• An amazing campus life with enough exposure to extracurricular activities. 
• The Manipal campus is extremely beautiful and offers a good academic ambiance.

Overall, the opportunities this college has to offer make it an excellent choice. 

KMC Manipal has an excellent crowd contrary to the general perception. Here, you need brains and not money to get admission. The admissions are based on merits so the quality of the crowd is not compromised at all. Only about 10% of the batch are NEI students or those with Indian ethnicity but are not citizens of this country WHO had to pay to get their seats. There are no management seats at all. The truth is that the number of meritorious students in government colleges is actually less because they have reservations for backward classes while private colleges do not.

So, go for KMC Manipal!