Think rationally, THE WHYs::
1) Why have you chosen engineering?
2) What are your interests in here or what are you really up to?
If the picture is not clear here are some checks which may help you-
1) if you are passionate about engineering- go for the branch of your interest, name and reputation of college takes the back seat, the 2nd priority.
Now how to decide the branch of your interest?
Well if you are some comp geek, there is absolutely nothing wrong in being one (already have some languages up your sleeve) or have some real passion for games and the Internet then you are expected to have a coding gene or two in you. Or if you have some coding experience and it was to your liking go for Computer science as your first preference and Information technology as your second. Note IT is not available in IITs. The drawback with IT is, it is not much recognized as a branch but is seen like something that has manifest itself due to demand and boom in IT sector. The smart money is on rather normal growth and potential in this sector or even some dip following the economic crisis that has been lurking for quite a while now.
Well not a coding warrior? You can go for Electronics and communication/telecommunication (ECE/ ETE), the ever green branch with good scope as well as nice pay checks. Please note it is different from Electrical and electronics (EE), the difference being the scale of electronics involved while the later has heavy electronics under its purview, ECE has semiconductors. The stress in case of the former is on the small components that make our electronic devices like semiconductors, ICs, chips, printed boards, example being the core hardware of any computer. In case of the later you will take on giant electronics which we see all around us, the line cables, transformers, motors etc. it is a millennium long trend that people prefer ECE over EEE in NITs and EEE is one hot branch in IITs only after comps (There is no ECE in IITs).
The hardware fantasy, the very base of the world we see around us, Mechanical, is arguably the coolest branch in engineering, definitely not for most girls (Said at the risk of sounding Chauvenist) due to the heavy duty, physical pain and prosaic dresses that these warriors have to wear during those eternal long hours in their labs. From robotics to automobile to aerospace all has mechanical at its heart. It is not all sweaty hard work in non-ac labs but has a fair share of auto-cad designs and other easier on glucose activities. Has a lot of scope with specializations in Aeronautics, Automobile, Thermodynamics etc.
Civil is expected to become one major player in the infrastructure and construction boom in most developing nations including
Chemical is an evergreen branch and boosts a constant growth. Do you have some interest for chemistry the mystery? Higher studies and you will be among the most sought after few.
Metallurgy can be preferred over mining engineering because it has a wider scope.
2) Not a genuine engineer inside? Go for the coolest ones the ones with good packages and yet involve minimum effort. Comps, IT, Mech, Civil make the cut. They are listed in order of my preference. Name, reputation of college takes control, tags really matter in your case. I made a mistake in this regard. You are anyway going to take a different road, non engineering one. So it will be better to be known by the reputation of coll, that establishes you as some sort of performer, a guy with apti or tenacity or whatever. For example an IITian tag is much better than some good branch in non IIT coll when your concern does not involve branch, at least the tag signifies you cracked JEE.
But as is the case with most people, we have little idea afresh from high school if we do have an engineer inside or what we want to do with life in the first place + the madness about engineering/medical and a rather misplaced euphoria doesn't help the cause either. So consult, open your heart to people who want the best for you in order to realize what you want.
Google all your doubts and concerns.
I can sum up for the time being with a well realized statement: sooner than later you would end up with what you deserve, just don't let your ill-choices or circumstances to bog u down.
