Some adolescents choose to spend after-school time at juku , privately owned academies that provide supplementary classes for students who pay a fee. Juku offers challenging and remedial courses for students who feel that the public schools do not offer enough. Many adolescents spend after-school time in juku to prepare for entrance exams. Students enrolled in juku may also choose to take enrichment courses, such as piano lessons that will round out their individual abilities in nonacademic areas. While parents send their children to juku to develop individual ability in various areas, many junior high students claim that they attend juku primarily to socialize.
Clubs also provide ample opportunity for social interaction.
Clubs and juku channel the social experiences of Japanese adolescents toward educational goals. By contrast, in America, friendships form through commonalities unrelated to school. The goals of peer interaction in America are often so polarized from the school's goal of learning that, according to one teacher, some kids don't want to show that they're bright because their peers will look down on them. Japanese adolescent friendships made in clubs or juku are most often based on school values. Students preparing for entrance exams do not see themselves competing directly with their friends, but rather competing indirectly with a large pool of applicants.