Harvard University has accepted a record-high percentage of African-American students, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education recently reported. 

The Ivy League institution accepted 2,023 students — of which 11.9 percent are African-American — from a larger pool of 34,295 applicants for the class of 2018. According to the journal's estimates, roughly 170 Black students will join this fall's entering class.

Data offered from a number of selective institutions, including Harvard and top-rated liberal arts college Williams College, revealed that only 5 to 10 percent of all students who applied were accepted. 

Almost 15 percent of the students accepted at Williams College, the No. 1 liberal arts college in the U.S., are African-American. The journal also reported that 50 percent of all admitted students at Williams are Black, Latino, Asian or Native American. 

This new data comes in the wake of nationwide discussions addressing the racial tensions and discomforts faced by many minority students at U.S. colleges and universities. Current Black Harvard students made headlines last March after launching "I, Too, Am Harvard," a viral campaign that sparked widely held debates about being Black at elite colleges. 

"We've been made to feel like we don't deserve to be here, and our place here is questioned," Abigail Meriam, a Harvard student, told NPR. "Oh, well, you know, you got in because you're Black."

BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

Get ready for the BET Experience, featuring Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Jill Scott, A$AP Rocky, Rick Rossand many more. Click here for more details and info on how to purchase tickets.

(Photo:  Igor Ponomarev /Getty Images)