Actually, geothermal came through in the end.... But we all know that's not the only, nor the most important, point of the exercise/session.
I believe the assessment day WAS already the first opportunity for AL to assess your character, though the interviews will no doubt include further exploration into all aspects of you that pertain to being a good AL pilot.
As you may have learned from your session, AL's standpoint is that if you cannot secure funds then there's no point in you continuing any further. Interested to hear how all those loan seekers fair out now. Let us know how that goes.