Ms Sara Yang, 29, was overjoyed to be offered a place in SIM University's undergraduate law course. "This is the chance I've been waiting for, for so many years," said the legal manager at Peter Low LLC.

The law and management diploma holder from Temasek Polytechnic has been working as a paralegal since 2006. She had applied to the National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University to study law a few years ago but was not accepted.

Ms Yang, who hopes to be a family lawyer, said: "Over the years, I've seen cases where women are treated unfairly and are afraid to seriously consider divorce because of their fear of what society would think of them."

Her interest in divorce and family cases stems from personal experience - she had received counselling help from a community group when her mother went through a divorce two decades ago.

She knows the demands of the legal profession, especially in family law practice. "I've seen how the legal industry is more grit than glamour.

"There are a lot of late nights, crazy deadlines, missed appointments with friends," she said."But at the end of the day, I feel great satisfaction from helping people."

Amelia Teng