There really ISN'T a lot of 'wiggle' room in those STEM majors past the 200-level, either. It's a lot of information, is the problem, and while you could make room for more humanities coursework and fine arts... it would be at the expense of that hands-on time in laboratories. And that is where good STEM students learn to be fearless in tackling and solving real problems, which is our real value in later workplace/graduate studies.
The lab is not where I learned to be fearless in tackling and solving real world problems, and I've known a number of STEM workers who completed those labs and were still frozen by fear, and rendered ineffective in their jobs as a result. Labs are scripted, and they're designed to reinforce or challenge your mastery of concepts that have already been formally taught. The real world doesn't work that way, because it has zero regard for what you've learned. It's perfectly comfortable behaving in ways that directly contradict your certainties.
Fearlessness is gained in the real world by successfully overcoming real-world challenges, and especially by successfully overcoming the ones you've caused yourself. That can only be done on the job.
I'm not saying labs are worthless... they're important baby steps to becoming familiar with the equipment and processes. I'm just saying the benefit isn't what you say it is, and that OJT still provides tremendous value, which is why nearly every job description is asking for experience.
