Is there a way to install a preset without pasting it into the presets folder on my Mac?
E.g. can I install it through the AE interface, similar to installing a brush in Photoshop? Because I don't have an admin user account at my workplace and MacOS won't let me paste a downloaded preset into the relevant folder, at least not without an admin password anyway.
In the Documents folder of your user you should have a folder
Adobe/AfterEffects 2022/User Presets
where you can copy the preset.
That way it is installed for your user only and all you need is access to your user's Documents folder (which any normal user should have).
If you want toapply a preset without having the preset installed at all, you can also use scripts.
My tool Automation Blocks, for example, can execute presets, no matter where exactly you have the preset file. See this tutorial at 3:17 for details:
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