Middle Eastern students thinking about studying in the U.S. are in good company.

Since 2000, the number of students from the Middle East and North Africa has more than tripled, according to a report released by the Institute of International Education. Saudi Arabia, which has one of the fastest-growing student populations in the U.S., sent nearly 54,000 students to the country during the 2013-2014 school year. That same year, the number of North African and Middle Eastern students coming to the States grew by 20 percent.

“There’s a very long tradition, going back many generations, of students from the Middle East coming to study in the U.S.,” says Erik Love, assistant professor of sociology at Dickinson College. “The United States has an excellent system of higher education that in many ways remains the envy of the world.”

Despite the benefits of coming to the U.S., the experience can still be incredibly daunting for Middle Eastern students, many of whom may worry about safety, stereotypes and cultural differences, among other issues. While some of those concerns may be warranted, experts say they shouldn’t deter students from hopping on a plane and earning an American degree.

[Assess your readiness to earn an undergraduate degree overseas.]

Laurie Riggin, an adjunct instructor at Dominican University who runs a course to help international students acclimate, says many of the nearly 70 Saudi students enrolled at the school were primarily worried about safety before coming to the U.S.

“Many international students’ perception of safety in the U.S. is based on media that isn’t entirely accurate,” she says. “I would really encourage them to keep an open mind about these experiences because college campuses are safe and supportive environments.”

Saad Alqurashi, a 21-year-old from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is one of those students. The freshman at Dominican blames his initial safety concerns on American films, which are often packed with crime and violence.

“It’s not like the movies,” he says of the U.S. “You have to come here and see everything with your own eyes.”

With reports of intimidation aimed at Muslims at U.S. colleges and the recent shooting of three Muslims near the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, Middle Eastern students may be understandably concerned about how they will be treated at school. While American campuses are generally tolerant and attacks are very unlikely, experts say Middle Eastern students should be prepared to face some level of prejudice or discrimination, even if small.

“I think, yes, in this day and age Muslim international students and Arab Muslims in particular experience prejudice both within the student body and in the host community,” says Stephen Sheehi, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Chair of Middle East Studies at the College of William and Mary.

[Explore these 7 tips to convince your parents you should earn a degree overseas.]

The good news, says Sheehi, who has written about Islamophobia, is that they can also find a community of like-minded people in Muslim student groups, the local mosque and other organizations.

Love, who also studies Islamophobia, agrees.

“In general, U.S. campus culture is quite welcoming and supportive of diversity and Muslim life and the idea that there should be space for people of all cultures and religions,” he says.

Mohammed Abu Dalhoum, who left his home of Amman, Jordan to attend Maryland’s Washington College, says he has rarely felt any kind of discrimination or discomfort in the States. Every now and then in a political science class, someone will say something ignorant about the Middle East. That angers him, he says, but then he shakes it off.

“It’s because of the things they hear in the mainstream media,” says 21-year-old Abu Dalhoum, who adds that his biggest struggle in the U.S. has actually been moving from a big city to a rural area. “If they are confused about something, I just correct them and tell them not everyone in the region is like that.”

Alqurashi, from Saudi Arabia, also occasionally has to help Americans adjust their stereotypes.

“I think some people, they think that we own oil, that we are really rich,” he says. “Some of us are rich, but not all of us.”

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Some Middle Eastern students may also be surprised by how Americans appear in person, says Abu Dalhoum, an international studies major.

“Stereotypes work in both directions,” he says. “We should also consider our stereotypes about Americans and not generalize them at all. I was surprised by how vast the country is. They have people from different backgrounds and they went to different types of schools, people who are into politics and who aren’t.”

Despite the challenges that come with being an international student, Dalhoum endorses studying in the U.S. As a sophomore, he was able to self-publish a book he wrote about his late father, a novelist — an impossible feat back home, he says. In Jordan, he says, people were accustomed to saying “no” to young people — whereas in the States, he finally heard “yes.”

“It’s a great place and it will change their lives like it changed mine,” he says. “Go for it and make the most out of it.”

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More Middle Eastern Students Come to the U.S., Find Surprises originally appeared on usnews.com