Did any of the top universities accept without ielts?

Absolutely! The bar for studying abroad is not set by IELTS. There are many more tests that can be taken for university study abroad programmes. IELTS can be replaced by other English proficiency tests, such as the TOEFL, PTE, Duolingo, etc. Your application to study abroad does not need to include IELTS, therefore not all countries demand it.

If you don't want to take a language test, search for colleges that don't require one. Yes, there are a number of universities that don't require an IELTS score or, really, any score on a language test. The UK is the nation with the most universities falling under this category. Here is a list of UK universities that have waived this requirement:

UK

 

University of Bath

University of Manchester

King's College London

Cardiff University

University of Liverpool

Lancaster University

University of Strathclyde

University of Birmingham

University of East Anglia

Newcastle University London

 

Lastly, if your previous academic background was in English only and you received a respectably good grade in the language subject, certain colleges will also waive the English language exam requirement. For instance, if English was your primary subject up through class 12 and you had an easy 75%, and even if you are studying English exclusively for your bachelor's degree, you may be exempt from taking a language test. This point is dependent on your profile and the university to which you apply because criteria differ between institutions and depend heavily on the applicant's profile.

Let me know if this is helpful and if you need any more information from my end.