If I do advanced highers in maths and biology would any uni accept me for medicine?I can't confirm which medical school will accept you (nobody can), but the following tool will help you cut down your research:
https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/comparisontool/The known unis that offer medicine in Scotland are: Aberdeen, Glasgow, St Andews, Edinburgh, and Dundee, all requiring Chemistry. Secondary subjects are in Biology, Maths, or Physics.
See the following:
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/medicine/scotlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Medical_schools_in_Scotlandhttps://www.medschools.ac.uk/studying-medicine/how-to-apply-to-medical-school-in-the-uk/medical-schoolsThe universities that accept Biology + a second science (where chemistry is not essential) are (if you accept required A Level subjects as substitutes for what subjects they require for Highers):
Buckingham
Leeds – they advise that if you don’t do A-Level Chemistry, you should at least have Physics or Maths instead
Kent Medway – they state that if you don’t take both Chemistry and Biology for A-Level, you’re advised to have Physics, Maths, Psychology or Computer Science
Newcastle – their website doesn’t mention specific subject requirements, it just specifies they don’t consider General Studies, Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture or Critical Thinking
Lancaster – they say you can apply with any two of Chemistry, Biology or Psychology
Norwich (UEA)
Anglia Ruskin
Leicester
Barts
Manchester
Brunel
Sheffield
Keele
Sunderland
Plymouth – they want Biology, plus another subject that’s Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology
Southampton – they ask for Biology, plus another science which they say can include Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Sociology, Environmental Studies or Geography
See:
https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/what-a-levels-do-you-need-to-be-a-doctor/In other words, if you don't pick chemistry, you're out of luck for Scottish universities. Should you still want to study medicine, you would need to study at an English uni (or one outside of the UK).
Can someone please tell me what options do I have if I have a biology degree.You typically need postgrad in order to get anywhere much with a biology related discipline, since most of them would lead into research. If you want to pivot into healthcare, you can often do so with a master's in the healthcare degree (accredited for the specific role e.g. MNC for midwifery and nursing, AfN for nutrition, HCPC, etc.).
Should you somehow wish that you did a degree in medicine, you can possibly go through the graduate entry, but it's a lot more competitive than going through the undergrad entry since there are significantly fewer places (55-70 for Scottish universities):
https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/graduate-entry-medicine/https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/subjects/medicine/scotgem-mbchb/entry-requirements/academic-requirements/Even then, they expect you to do Chemistry at Highers/A Level.
Alternatively, you can apply for work that either asks for degrees in any subject, or no degree at all. This can include:
Administration
Government services
Social work
Some areas of healthcare
Most areas of business (HR, marketing, accounting, sales)
IT roles
Some areas of construction
Most areas of property
Most areas of beauty and wellbeing
Creative/design and media (if you're good)
Theatre and film (if you're good)
Music (if you're good)
Anything related to writing (if you're good)
Storage
Logisitics
Armed forces and police force (if you pass certain tests, have a clean record, and are of a certain age range)
Some environmental services
Hospitality
Manufacturing
Management (if you have the relevant experience)
Retail
Care work
Travel and tourism
Charity
Entertainment (if you're good)
Translation (if you are fluent in more than one language)
If you decide to go back to college (adult college), then you can do courses that are relevant to the following:
Animal care (other than vet)
Some areas of construction and certain trades
Some areas of beauty and wellbeing
Some areas of engineering
You can go into the following areas with specific professional qualifications (irrespective of what previous qualifications you have):
Accounting
Actuary (if you have a math background e.g. A Level Maths)
Law (CILEx)
Most areas of finance
Delivery and transport (licences)
Sports coaching
Should you wish to look into doing a postgrad in an area other than biology, there are some master's degrees that accept any undergrad subjects:
Computer science (some degrees)
Anything in business (except for finance) e.g. marketing, accounting. You cannot do some business management degrees if you have done it at undergrad
Anthropology
Nursing
Some criminology degrees
Nonquantiative economics degrees
Some film degrees
Hospitality
Some media degrees
Some journalism degrees
Education
Linguistics
Social work
Some politics degrees
Some agriculture degrees
Some fine art degrees
If you want to go into specific areas of research not listed above, you would need to look into doing a conversion course prior to enrolling into the respective master's degree. These subjects include:
Economics (for quantitative degrees)
Law
Psychology
Computer science (if you want to look into advanced computer science)
There are other conversion courses for other subjects, but they are often for subjects within a similar discipline. For example, conversion courses within life sciences are suitable if you have an undergrad in a life science subject; conversion courses in physics and engineering are suitable if you have an undergrad in physics or engineering
In particular, you can sometimes get into postgrad degrees for biomed, biological sciences, etc., or anything that doesn't require a lot of chemistry.
In short, you are going to have a significantly easier time if you did Chemistry at Highers along with Biology than if you didn't.