Let's go... I got 1400...
what? wdym a 'few private colleges', the USA literally has the BEST universities in tthe world, and BY FAR. the USA produces the most successful technologies AND PEOPLE, in the world, it has the MOST top tier universities in the world. Public education/ public schools dont mean shit, kids all learn the same basic knowledge. The education that makes or breaks your future and your career is post-secondary, and that is where the USA is the best compared to every nation in the world. Finlands education is ass compared to the USA when we talk about the education that MATTERS. We still have millions of successful people in the usa going to top tier universities every year so clearly you're overestimating the value of public schools.
You realize that theres a reason why the Usa is the #1 country for immigrants across the world coming to get a better education right? Its because the opportunities in the post-secondary education are infinitely better
Sheesh... mine will probably be regeneron semifinals/finals and maybe the Intel competition that happens every year... but science research let's me enter into tons of competitions and I started my research on the effect turmeric on inflammation (this has already been done but my mentor thinks it's a good way to start off)
You have a good base but stay humble: you're not yet at the point where there are any guarantees; especially for a school as competitive as MIT.
Across USAPHO, USAMO, USACO, USNCO the set of "top 20" quickly becomes larger than the admitted class, so there is still significant competition, especially when you consider that a) they balance diversity in background and b) USAMO/USACO have higher weighting for many programs.
Further, for top schools there are many international applicants, with both top 5 placements on their national version of these contests, as well as top placements on the international versions, e.g. IOI, IMO, IPhO etc.
Source: Had top placements in olympiads, went to a school in this category, now make >$1m/yr