I was trying to point out the nebulousness of the term "genuine need". The fact that fancy schools and trendy stuff exist must be providing some utility. Of course, some more than others.

For example, "fancy" (I assume you are referring to selective schools) provide the utility of providing an easy way to discriminate between those who have the traits to get into those schools vs those who don't. Seeing as how they have vastly higher levels of economic success, I can only conclude it's definitely providing utility that someone wants (or "needs").

Similarly with fancy cars or whatnot, it can serve as a proxy to quickly ascertain someone's socioeconomic status. Obviously, a copy of one's credit report and statement of accounts serves a better purpose, but it's not the recommended method for various reasons.

Let's not equate a fancy degree with a fancy car. A college education is only partially about the line you append to your resume. Working with people at the front of an intellectual field is a life changing experience that you can leverage to open far more doors than a degree ever could.