A third conclusion might be that he only APPLIED to Columbia, but never actually went as he claimed in his book. Maybe THAT is the fact he’s trying to hide, the he applied as a foreign exchange student and got caught, or was never accepted.
Frank, I'd be willing to accept that if it weren't for the fact that Harvard Law ACCEPTED the putz! He had to submit transcripts to Harvard. Surely someone would have noticed they didn't exist.
On the other hand, I do know that leftist colleges in those days did accept BLACK students who had no scholastic background whatsoever. It's even possible some rich Saudi muslim - for whatever hidden reason - merely picked up the phone and said let this kid in. I wouldn't put it past Harvard in those days,...and NOT even these days!
I have believed that to be a strong possibility.