I received a scholarship to study in the U.S. to do physics. I'm Muslim and I wear a hijab ( by my own will! ). I have been having second thoughts about it because of how some americans think about muslims and I'm scared. Any opinions?

In any part of the world, bad & good people exist. It's really as simple as that.  We shouldn't focus on it & overthink about it. Doesn't matter where we are, there's always a possibility that someone rob us, attack us or harm us, all kind of people exist & we never know what would happen in every minute that we're walking around. But should we be ready for such a thing ? No, life is more precious than these negativities, you shouldn't let the thought of some bad people, bad actions or negative words  stop you from progressing in life. You have to follow your dreams & go to achieve your goals. So drop these negatives & keep going forward.

But also i would like to mention some point, i really respect all the religions. So i would request you to not make my meaning in a wrong way. I don't know you so surely i won't judge. But (beside some bad people might exist, which you shouldn't care about them, & ignore those losers) it's totally up to yourself as well.

-Try to gather some information about the place you're suppose to go. I'm not asking you to find other cultures. Be yourself, but when you suppose to live somewhere even for a very short time, you need to know where are you going, what it's culture represents & being able to cope with your environment.

-Some Muslim people come here, they find problem because of their own behavior, keep your belief to yourself, don't try to invite others into your religion, don't connect everything with Islam, don't give speeches about Islam & don't be rude about the culture you suppose to live in, don't react strangely & don't  question American's lifestyles or belief, you should cope yourself with America not to try to change America with your own believes. Don't pray loudly in Arabic in education environment, you might face atheists,agnostic, or Christians or even Muslims there, it's a free country, you need to be prepared to face any type of belief so you need to face it with acceptance without trying to be a guide for Americans like you wanna save them. If you see something that would be inappropriate for you, (for instance shaking hands with a guy) decline it respectfully,don't act harsh & mind your own business. (I said those because it has been examples that i've seen) so please just be yourself & act nice so you'll find so many great friends in a very quick time.

-If America would have problem with Muslims, there wouldn't be Mosque in different areas of the United States & so many Muslims go there & pray by their own beliefs. It is literally a free country. It is always "some" group of people who fighting over nothing. It's not about all. If U.S would have problem with Muslims, you wouldn't have scholarship from the first place. So you should be comfortable, just avoid (those type of ignorance people) (behave nice) & you'll be fine.

Don't let these things ruin your goals. Go there & reach it. Wish you best of luck.

Frankly speaking I would say the possibility of you encountering any difficulty would depend on your resolve.

I see women wearing Hijab quite often here, you may somewhat stand out, but would not be unusual.

As long as you're friendly, don't act like the smug arabic/chinese foreign upper class studying on their parents dime, and don't go around spewing religious sentiments people will treat you fine.

I understand where your concern is coming from and it's definitely something that I'd be concerned about too if I were in your shoes. However, you shouldn't be too worried because the people who hate people based solely on their religion (whether they are American or not) are those who are ignorant and are honestly not worth anyone's time. In the media they may look like the majority but that's only because they're the loudest. In reality, most Americans really don't care what your religious beliefs are unless you try to forcibly convert people and tell them that their religious beliefs (or lack of beliefs) are wrong. I have a good feeling that you aren't like that so you'll be okay.

People in general are now more open to different cultures and bringing awareness than they were say a decade ago, especially on most college campuses. I'm not going to get into the political correctness culture many colleges have but just be aware that most college students will be supportive of you if you were to ever feel discriminated against due to your religion. Plus most college campuses do have a Muslim community and maybe you can be in touch with them if it makes you feel any better.

Main point is just as long as you treat people kindly there shouldn't be a problem with getting along with others no matter where you go.