Numbers released by Harvard and Dartmouth show an increase in overall applications for admission, but an even higher increase in the percentage of minority student applications: an increase over last year of more than 28 percent for Harvard and, for Dartmouth, to more than 25 percent of total applications. Officials at Harvard have cited their new financial aid initiative as the reason for the increase in applications, which essentially provides room and board as well as tuition to students whose family income is less than $40,000 per year.