<p>I think they look at it more in terms of time, so if you have played a varsity sport like swimming which practices 5-6 days/week 2-3 hrs/day, this will clearly be “worth more” than after school choir which is, say, 2 days/week for 2 hrs/day. If you have had this sort of time restriction your whole life (and intend to continue it), that shows MIT that you have time management skills, loyalty, and persistence among other things. In this way, as sport can often be “worth more” than a simple, less time consuming after school activity.</p>