TAMPA, FLA. - Students should be wary of the information they receive from their college about the costs and benefits of their degree, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL.)  told attendees of a town hall hosted by National Journal and The Atlantic Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.

At the groups' “Conversations with the Next Generation” panel, Schock explained that because the government subsidizes public universities, they have little incentive to keep costs low.

“When someone else is paying for anything—whether it’s healthcare, whether it’s food, whether it’s for education—you have much less of an interest in being responsible," he said.

The Congressman sat on the panel, which was sponsored by Microsoft and Generation Opportunity, with George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the co-chair of youth-based political fundraising organization MaverickPAC. The panel was primarily about reforming secondary education, but the two also found time to chat about higher education reforms, gaming and P90X among other topics.

Schock, who is 31, informed the predominately younger audience that “Our four year institutions have not done a good job because it is not in their interest to council young people on, precisely what George was talking about, which is return on investment.”

For Schock, an important part of his job is helping young people understand the higher education system and the true value of their degree.

“I’m not saying that young people shouldn’t be able to go into their preferred course of study, but I do think a lot of young people lack the appropriate amount of council at the four year institution level,” Shock added. “Maybe you ought to stop and think about what kind of costs you’re going to take on to get this particular degree.”

So what's the single best way to improve the nation's floundering education system?

"There is no silver bullet," unfortunately, Schock said. "If it were as easy as a law being written, it would have been done a long time ago." But he said students could help themselves get ahead in life by working hard and often times, just showing up.

Despite believing the U.S. education system is in need of severe reforms, Schock said he wouldn’t trade in his 12 years of public school if he could go back and do it all over again because it helps him understand the public education system and, in turn, be a better public servant.