So I’m going into my Freshman year at a middle of the road LAC this fall (one of the colleges that changes lives), and I’m trying to decide what classes I should take outside of my major. I’m going in knowing that I’ll be transferring next year, and I’m wondering how much the rigor of the classes I take outside my major — American Studies — will matter when applying to schools. Specially, I’m wondering if I should take an intro bio or chemistry class over a geology class. Is geology viewed as less rigorous than chem or bio, and if so, how much do you think it matters for an American Studies major? I’m not super confident in my ability to get an A in bio or chem and the intro geo class at my school is notoriously really exciting and fun. Any advice would be much appreciated 
I personally think that GPA matters more than the courses you take. If you aren’t confident in certain subjects, I wouldn’t take those classes because if you end up with a bad grade that really affects your GPA, that can severely impact your chances of transferring to certain schools. Chem or Bio might look a little “better” on a transcript, but an A in Geology isn’t going to look bad at all. I would argue that A in Geology will look better than a B in the other classes. There’s also no way for schools to know how difficult that certain class is at your particular school. I know at my state school, Geology is actually a very hard class that many people do poorly in because they take it assuming it’s easier than Chem. I would say take what interests you and what you will do well in, and focus on other aspects of your application.
Take a look at the general education requirements of your transfer target schools to see if any particular out of major courses would be more helpful than others. You may want to do the same for major requirements with respect to in major courses.