Your instincts are correct. NASS is like a "Disney Ride" version of Plebe Summer. Even though intellectually the plebes who've done NASS tell themselves it is different, every year there were a lot who were in practice disappointed by just how different.
Similarities? It's hot, you're on the Yard, you get up pretty early in the morning and you're on the go.
Differences? Plebe summer is long enough for the two killer deprivations -- sleep and smartphone -- to hurt. People get sick. They get gimpy. The detailers aren't trying to convince you to apply -- they get tired and lose their patience and aren't making allowances for high school kids. NASS has the activities planned to keep the kids on the go, for the most part. Plebe summer has lots of standing with your feet hurting and sweat trickling down the small of your back, waiting for things you haven't been told about. The NASS "uniform" is basically matching casual wear -- it doesn't rule your life like a uniform that needs attention paid to brass and shoes and all the rest. NASS has tons of social life -- it's like sleep-away camp for the bonding. Plebe summer can feel very isolated at the beginning as it is hard to get to know your classmates as people. NASS you're not hungry, Plebe Summer you often are.
So, your daughter is a smart cookie. With that said, NASS is "military enough" that there are people who hate it and would hate life as a mid, so it is a good canary in the coal mine type test. But plebe summer takes you down and makes you dig deeper (to continue the mine analogy). It's a good sign that your daughter loved it -- but Plebe Summer ain't no NASS (I believe we had some funny cadences to that effect).
