During BCT and your Doolie year I
think USAFA just tries to keep the squads balanced numerically and by sex. The squadrons start off fairly even in numbers of males and females (even by USAFA standards
).
I have "heard" that beginning with the third degree year USAFA attempts to also balance the squads by CGPA and other factors.
As far as reputations; Squadron reputations seem to change each year depending on which cadets are in leaderships positions. During the last couple of years Mighty Mach One and 22 Raptors have "supposedly" had a reputation for being tough. I would definitely take ANY reputation with a grain of salt. They are all easy and all difficult...at times.
Good Luck!