MyRichUncle is a national provider of student loans. While we are listed on NASDAQ (symbol: UNCL) and have an impressive list of investors and providers of credit facilities, the first thing people recognize about MyRichUncle is that, from our very core, we are a different kind of student loan company.

We believe that the financial aid process is more complex and confusing than it should be. It seemed to us that parents and student are just not receiving the information and tools they need to feel comfortable and well-informed about their decisions to pay for school. So we talked to parents and students, and considered the ways we can make it better.

We have been exceptionally thoughtful in creating the path that brings our vision of a better student loan experience to you. First, our products had to be better. We knew that Federal loans (Stafford, PLUS and GradPLUS) are the loans you should turn to first, so we added them into our product mix for our first full lending season. But we did it with a twist ­ we were the first lender to introduce Federal loans with actual, real discounts. That means we give these discounts upfront because we found out most borrowers will not qualify for the discounts that need to be earned, which incidentally happened to be the way we saw other lenders doing it. Really ­ what is the point of providing you a discount that you probably will never receive? That was not how we wanted to interact with our customers.

Private loans have become a necessity to help finish paying the way for school when your other aid does not quite cover the costs. Yet, when it came to private student loans, we felt that there just was not enough being done to address borrowers' needs. So we created proprietary underwriting models that surpass the limitations of traditional credit underwriting. These have been described as the most advanced underwriting models in student lending. And they affect our customers in two ways: parents and students with better credit scores get better rates; and for students who don't have access to credit or a creditworthy co-borrower, we can still qualify them because we look at more information about the student than simply a credit score.

Another thing about MyRichUncle is that we love information. We find that when we know more, we simply make better decisions. We want you to have best-of-breed information and tools. We want you to know the pitfalls, the processes to follow and everything in between that gives you pause as you embark on figuring out how to for college. You want help with FAFSA, we got it. Better understanding of "what to do next", ­ we have you covered. A clearer picture of what your monthly bill will be? Yes, we have that too.

Our better products and better information has earned us a lot of recognition that we're proud of, but we're not resting on our laurels. This is just the beginning. Stick with us ­ and we'll stick with you.