<p>“If the school does make gender distinctions, why would it hide this”</p>
<p>Because to admit to “gender distinctions” in particular would open them up to lawsuits. No college will ADMIT that they practice discrimination. They make admissions decisions based on a desire to have a “well rounded class of qualified students”, what ever that means to that particular college. That may mean to a place like Caltech having a certain % of females, athletes, physicists, chemists, musicians etc.</p>