I'm assuming you are filling out the MN student loan credit information. They are asking for the amount you actually took out in loans to pay for school. So, if you took out a $10,000 loan 5 years ago and have been paying it since then - they are asking for the $10,000 number - not what you have paid or how much left.
BUT - there is a $5,000 max original loan amount for that credit anyways - so if you know you had more than that in original loans, you can just enter $5,000.
