Not many people in school are able to start saving in retirement, if entering a profession you might just wait to see what retirement package the employer might offer before you begin saving.
Certainly paying off the card to eliminate interest charges is good (providing the loan contact allows it) but it's also good to keep a reasonable amount of cash liquid, for emergencies.
Depends on the interest rate you're paying for the car. If you think your retirement investments will have a better return than the interest rate you're paying, invest.
I.E. If your loan is 10% interest, paying it off essentially is a 10% return. If the interest is only 2% and you think you can make 6% in your retirement investing, you're beating the car payoff investment by 4%.
I suggest you pay off the car now and then start your retirement savings(at least 10% of income) when you get a fulltime job in your career field.
Absolutely get rid of debt before you lock away your money. And never give up liquidity. Unless you are wealthy, you have too many things to invest in first before you start thinking about retirement.
Start your retirement plan, compound interest is your friend, along with time.
I'd pay off the car first - that way you can begin your professional life without that debt.
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