Sorry for the silly reply earlier. It really has a grain of truth to it.

Good work counts for more than a degree. All a degree tells an employer is you managed to sit still for four years and finish what was assigned.

Freelance what? There are lots of aspects to commercial art. 

Selling to other artists. 
Renderosity has a lot of items for sale. They take a hefty commission but handle all the paperwork. After your original software purchases and your time to create there is no cash out. It may be slow going however. You can only list a few items until you sell a few hundred bucks worth of stuff. There are lots of people buying naked Vicki stuff but few buying stagecoaches. It may be a choice between making money and doing what you want to do.

Finished work in newspapers and magazines.
Most of tabloids use still photo or traditional media like pencil or colors. If you can digital paint or filter to look like a certain style that's good. The editor will have his own style and you should have a portfolio that has the kind of work you see in the publication you target. You are not going to persuade someone who likes soft focus pieces to suddenly switch to a photo journalist style.
I've only seen intern jobs posted most places. You can wait forever for an ad and get in that way or just cold call. Lot’s of better jobs are never advertised. If it’s a company you really like it will show in your work. If you get a no, don’t walk off, ask why? It could be something you can fix.

Charities and non-profits.
Charity work pays nothing, but it puts you and your work next to people who can hand you well paying jobs. I did a newspaper for a local non profit. They handed me a copy of Quark to typeset with. When I handed the pressman the print run he told me they were paying $35K for a typesetter who could use Quark. I've met lots of rich people by doing fliers and posters for The American Cancer Society. Only really well off people have enough money they can give their time away. You'd be surprised how many Architects and bankers that pay thousands for a render of their new office building also volunteer at soup kitchens, etc. 

Hope this gives you some ideas.