Lori Loughlin in the Market for a Break in College Admissions Scandal

Lori Loughlin's going about her normal routine ... just hours before getting an enormous clue about her fate in the college admissions scandal.

Lori was doing a little shopping Thursday at Ralphs in Westwood when a photog asked how she's doing, offering some words of support. Lori was mum, but there's reason for her to think things are looking up.

As we reported, in Felicity Huffman's case, the Probation Dept. wrote a report saying zero jail time would be appropriate since "There was no actual or intended loss." In other words, no one suffered as a result of Felicity paying $15k to rig her daughter's SAT test. What's so important here ... the Probation Dept. said there was no "intended" loss. Fact is ... even if she intended her daughter to get into a college and displace another student, the Probation Dept. doesn't think that's a "loss." That bodes well for Lori.