Lori Loughlin’s next court appearance will be in a few weeks, January 17th. I’m not 100% positive, but I don’t think that date is for the start of the trial, but I’m sure the trial date is coming up soon enough. Lori has been leaking to People Magazine for months with endless updates about her state of mind and how tough it is to be a rich faith-based white lady who got caught doing crimes. We’ve been regaled with pity-poor-Lori stories from the get-go, but over the past few months, we’ve been getting another kind of story: Lori Prepares For Jail. Lori Prepares For Court. Lori Is Worried About Jail And The Trial. I guess some crisis manager probably thinks this makes her look sympathetic, but I’m not buying it and I don’t think many people are. Anyway, the latest Lori Prepares For Jail story is that she’s hired a prison consultant to teach her how to behave if and when she does get sent to the pokey.

Lori Loughlin is preparing for every possible outcome in her upcoming trial in the high-profile college admissions scandal — including learning what life will be like if she ends up serving jail time. “She has someone who is advising her what to do in case she loses her case and goes to prison,” a source close to the Fuller House actress tells PEOPLE. “The advisor is there to help her learn the ropes. That’s not to be construed that she thinks she’s going to lose her case. Lori is a planner, and she is doing what she needs to do for all contingencies.”

The source close to Loughlin insists that she will mount a vigorous defense. The couple filed a motion last month claiming that they didn’t know their donations would be used as bribes. They say that they were hoodwinked by Singer. The couple has closely followed other high-profile cases in the scandal, and realize that many defendants who have pleaded guilty have still had to serve jail time. (Actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison.)

“They realize that if they are convicted, they’ll have to serve time,” says the source. “And they’re figuring out what that would look like, which includes hiring a consultant to explain prison life to them. The whole point is to have someone tell her how to keep herself safe. She needs to keep a low profile if she’s incarcerated. Obviously, she’s going to stand out, because of all the publicity and because she’s a star. She can’t do anything about that. But she doesn’t want to stand out because she’s so green that she does the wrong things.”

The source says that the actress is trying to grow from the experience. “She wants to understand what the experience will be like, and how to not only survive it, but flourish in it,” says the source. “She is looking at this whole thing as a learning experience, and this is one more thing that she’s trying to learn.” So what are some of the things she may be trying to learn? The source would not disclose specifics, but acknowledges that life is different in jail — and that Loughlin is learning how to avoid making common mistakes. Table manners are different; social interactions are different. Here on the outside, eye contact is a good thing. You meet someone and you shake their hands and stare them in the eyes. In prison, you might not do that. You don’t want to challenge someone. Prison is a very different world than Hollywood, and Lori is just trying to be prepared. She’s preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.”

[From People]

Granted, I know all prison and jail stays are unpleasant and it’s a matter of degrees, but there is a massive difference between “San Quentin” and “whatever low-security federal women’s prison Lori would get sent to.” She’s not going to be rooming with the Unabomber, she’s going to be working laundry shifts with low-level drug dealers and eating lunch with tax frauds. My argument is that prison probably isn’t radically different than Hollywood. There are cliques, there is a code of omerta, and the food served will make it easy for her to stay on her diet. That being said, how much do you love that Lori is being scammed by this prison consultant?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Avalon Red.