they look the same, but

i am so confused when a student-type walks up and asks questions about a project. this week, the anthro 160 undergrads have been wandering into the folklore archives in droves and saying things such as, "so, i was thinking about the project and was wondering..." at which point, my mind tends to shut off, because i'm shocked. there are students who think about their projects. they ask for help when they're confused. they decide to...wait. right, i'm at berkeley. they got into berkeley, so barring the possibility that someone else filled in their applications, these are the 18-year-olds who advocate for their own education.
my high school students were the ones who turned in their homework, maybe sometimes, if i bothered to literally chase them down the hallway, possibly while throwing things at them and yelling, "WHERE is your HOMEWORK? Do you UNDERSTAND what HAPPENS if you don't turn in THIS ASSIGNMENT?"
how does one create a culture of success? i'm still asking this question.