So I found a PhD that sounded interesting to me and was really similar to what I did in my MSc dissertation and so I reached out to the supervisor with a short intro on myself, etc. He told me my background sounded very relevant and encouraged me to apply and that 'following your application, we can arranage an introductory meeting to discuss specific interests and details of the project'.
So I submitted my application and sent off the reference report forms to my referees to fill out. The uni application form/process does say:
"Your application cannot be considered until references have been received by the University." And then emailed the supervisor to ask if we would be waiting till after the references had been received to have the intro meeting or if before was ok.
He replied saying not to worry about the references and that they would go through my application and arrange for an introductory discussion.
So I guess my question is - what is this 'introductory discussion/meeting' going to be like? What will I have to prepare? Given that it doesn't seem like the 'proper' interview stage of the application.
Thank you!
Edit: Also, the application says: 'Candidates should hold or expect to gain a first-class degree or a good 2.1 (or their equivalent)', but I got a bad 2.1 at undergrad (60/61) but got a distinction (72? i think) for my masters and an 86 for my dissertation (which really is very similar to the project advertised. My MSc dissertation involved computer vision AI in histology, this project involves computer vision AI in histology, just in another field + obvs goes much deeper into detail as you would expect of a msc dissertation vs a whole degree dedicated to the project). However, I also did badly for a research project during my MSc (58) due to a supervisor who was unbelievably unhelpful during the project. How badly will my chances be hurt by these mistakes on my transcript?