  I outline a program to derive the Standard Model directly from superstring
theory. I present a class of three generation superstring standard--like models
in the free fermionic formulation. I discuss some phenomenological properties
of these models. In particular these models suggest an explanation for the top
quark mass hierarchy. A numerical estimate yielded $m_t\sim175-180~GeV$. The
general texture of fermion mass matrices was obtained from analysis of
nonrenormalizable terms up to order $N=8$.I argue that the realistic features
of these models are due to the underlying $Z_2\times Z_2$ orbifold, with
standard embedding, at the free fermionic point in toroidal compactification
space.
