My husband and I thought the exam was unnecessary, ridiculous and a rip off.
UKBA policies back then had a list of universities that if you are a graduate of one of them, you might be exempt from taking the exam. Well, the university(UST) which I graduated from wasn't even on that list, but it is still A university. I'm not sure if the policies are still the same now though.
I thought my call centre work history would help my application because:
If the immigration officer want a genuine measure of English proficiency, then look no further than a call centre background!