<p>Under the categories that most colleges and universities would use, a student from Syria (as a middle eastern country) would be classified as White or Caucasian.</p>
<p>But most of that reporting is not for the colleges themselves, just for the Department of Education, and often students can check one, some, or all of the boxes as they so choose.</p>
<p>I think you might be better off identifying as a Caucasian.
The problem with identifying as “Asian” is that when admissions consider “Asian”, they usually think of Chinese or Indian applicants. Those particular races are overrepresented minorities- because they tend to be VERY competitive applicants in terms of GPA and test scores. Because of this, saying you’re Caucasian would be your best bet- you won’t have to worry about competition as much that way.</p>
Some colleges and universities give a boost in admissions to members of underrepresented minority groups. Neither Arabs nor east Asians are underrepresented.</p>