Hi there, I'm sort of in your position, I'm just about to start my 2nd year and have started to actively look for freelance work to help pay the bills.
peopleperhour.com can get you some experience of working with clients without much pressure, though the pay is often pocket money and competition is fierce.
The best place to find work I've found is locally as you're not competing with half the world. Work for local charities and other good causes for free to get experience, build your portfolio and network.
Take note of community notices that come through your door or publication about what's happening in your area. Often the design leaves a lot to be desired and a polite email to the address often featured in the back, asking if you could get involved with the design could lead to other things.
It's important to have experience and good quality, varied work to back up your claims. Anyone can say they're a freelance designer but without the experience, testimonials and work to back it up you'd struggle to convince a potential client that you're the real deal.
It's worth having a look at this page;
Advice for design students | David Airey, graphic designer
And stay well celar of sites like 99designs, crowdspring and other crowdsourcing, 'design competition' sites. They are the work of the devil and serve to exploit designers to make the website owners rich.