Imo, that’s ^ not the argument. Know what a college values and see if you have that. Show it. Not guessing nor faking. Stands to reason. It’s more than race.
But in OP’s case, seems he’s assuming hiding his Asian roots is a benefit. That being Asian American is enough to do him in. It misses what does advance one.
If he views this from a broader perspective, he might see what matches him or not. Imo, taking this look beats getting in a tizzy.
To the initial question, I don’t see how “prefer not to disclose” would be considered lying. Is there an application where this isn’t an option?
Don’t you have to fill in your parents’ info including their names and birthplaces? For OP, who’s fifth (?) generation American, it might not be an issue as many Asian Americans do change their last names as generations go, like many Jewish people, but for first or second generation Asian Americans with non-Asian last names, how could they “cover” the parents’ place of education/last names that are very identifiable.