how important are the sat subject tests and the aps for the application process?
i got 800 800 800 800 in chem phy math 1 and 2 - are they really going to stand out in my application?
and i am doing my aps in phy c (mechanics and electricity and magnetism ) , chem and calc bc - will 4s and 5s be good enough to get into top colleges?
thanks for your opinions and views 
Your SAT Subject Test scores won’t ‘stand out’, but they will definitely help your application.
The top schools (the ivies and the like), have more than enough applicants with 4s and 5s in APs and also with stellar SAT Subject test Scores.
So, your performance in these exams isn’t a huge boost. Bad performance is definitely going to harm your app, but good performance is not going to make it stand out. Getting good grades is a MUST (unless, of course, you have some explanation).
so what will make an application stand out…in turns of academics?
what about A levels - further mathematics?
For top colleges, scores and GPA are hard to make you stand out as most applicants would have great grades and scores. The things that would differentiate applicants are hooks, EC, essay, URM, etc.
@Sriscavenger
Olympiad Medal (eg IMO). Major Exhibitions (Intel). Research paper. Or some mind blowing project.
Top colleges want SAT 2 scores.
Many other colleges don’t consider them.
So if you are applying to top colleges, it is necessary, but not sufficient to have top grades like that.
I don’t agree with determined2300. I think the across the board 800s will, in fact, set you apart. The 800s put you in the top 10% in the much smaller pool of students that take those tests. Only 58,000 kids take the chemistry subject test. Only 34,000 kids take the physics subject test. Getting 800s on all of those tests certainly puts you into a small pool of top math/science students. You can see the percentiles at http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SAT_subject_tests_percentile_ranks.pdf.
But the subject tests will only help put you over the top if you are a good candidate in terms of GPA, SAT/ACT and academic rigor. Think of the subject test as the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. Also, as bopper indicated, the SAT II tests only come into play with a handful of schools, specifically the Ivy league schools and a handful of other elite schools. These schools often look at the SAT II scores because they have so many candidates with similar numbers (high SAT/ACT, great GPAs) and in some cases the SAT II can help differentiate between similar candidates.
@Ljtrose While 800’s are impressive, keep in mind that top schools have many 4.0/2400/800/800 rejects. These “holistic” schools are looking at other criteria on top of rigor, GPA, and test scores.
They really care less if you are 750 or 800 in a subject test, or 2350 instead of 2400. One still cannot stand out from the crowd for those schools by GPA or scores as it is very crowded within that range in the applicant pool. You really need something else. As the admission officer at MIT said, they can remove the whole admitted class and still can fill another class of admitted student easily with equally well credentials.