<p>It sounds like there is a lot going on in the OP's family--it's perfectly OK not to visit, especially if you are overwhelmed, out of vacation time, stretched financially, possibly grieving. Sometimes, as hsmom's story illustrates, family considerations have to take precedence over the ideal college shopping experiences. </p>
<p>Every kid is different; we did some visiting and my D. seems to find it easier to rule things out than in based on those visits. It got very frustrating to me until I realized it was her way of saying "I'm not ready for this yet." Now that she IS ready to go look, we have had some unanticipated major expenses and a couple of deaths in the family that required travel and time off, so we are basically in the same boat as the OP--no time or money. I am just going to have to relax and accept that she'll find a school in spite of the fact she hasn't been there, and she can always visit if she has trouble deciding on where to go.</p>
<p>My H. went off, sight unseen, to a school thousands of miles from home that he hadn't even heard of before his mom found it and suggested he apply there. It turned out to be the single best experience of his life--it is funny, because for him it was truly a life changing experience. Had he gone and said "ugh, too flat" he would have missed the whole experience.</p>