This has got to be one of the best threads about college recruiting yet. It has answered many of the questions I have concerning scholarships. Another thread had listed which girls are going to which colleges, but what I'm truly interested in is how much scholarship money they were offered. Unless you're a phenomenal hitter, I would guess only pitchers and catchers would be getting a full ride at many of these schools. It's good to know that academics are rewarded.
I think Hitter and others make some great points. A girl should look at academics first, because realistically a good career will take her a lot further in life than playing softball in college. If the college she wants to play softball for doesn't have a good program for her major, then I don't know if it would be a good idea to attend that college even if she's getting a lot of scholarship money. On the other hand, if a college she's really interested in has a great academic program but only offers a $3000 scholarship and the parents have to come up with another $15,000, they may decide that's its not worth it to play softball for that school. They may find that she could attend an excellent school that is closer to home where the tuition is only $10,000. I can imagine that choosing which college to attend is a very difficult decision, especially for those girls that really want to play softball in college, but aren't offered very much scholarship money.
A girl's best bet is to start focusing on grades at a young age to open up more opportunities for scholarship money. It certainly won't hurt their chances of getting aid.