I do think the trend of double- and triple-majoring is particularly prevalent at UR. And that applies to students in engineering and health sciences/premed as well as typical liberal arts categories. While, majoring in economics, optics, and BME may sound like a great idea…it’s also a lot of work.
The freedom afforded by the cluster system might have some impact, as well. While Rochester doesn’t have a “core curriculum,” clusters will account for at least 24 credit hours (assuming a single major). Students are responsible for finding and/or creating their own clusters, and I can see where that might get to be an issue for those who aren’t used to creating their own educational path.
The other thing I wonder is how the Eastman school stats are figured into the equation. Another factor may be the fairly large percentage of international students.
Bottom line, though, from what I’ve seen (in my admittedly small sample of “my kid’s friends”), is that UR may err on the side of “let students figure it out themselves.” There’s not a lot of mandatory hand-holding. I see that as a good way to prepare for the “real world,” and I think it works pretty well for most students there.