How can new students gain experience in the IT field?

If you are trying to get into ANY field that values experience (which IT does), there are two ways to go about landing that first job. One is "work cheap". Two, "know someone". The second is not as difficult as most people think. Know what you want to do, and how to talk about it. Talk to people you know, and try to get names of people who might be in a position to hire you, or at least someone who might know someone who knows someone. Identify people doing what you want to be doing in five to ten years, and go talk to them about their career, how they got started, and the ONLY time you talk about YOU is to say "I'd like that" or "That sounds great" or that kind of thing to identify yourself with the person; if it goes well, you might be offered a job even though it is NOT an interview, and worst case, you can get names from them of other folks to talk to. Don't work cheap. Knowing people is better.