Eric MacDonald: The 16-Year-Old Student Making SAT Prep Easier

At 16, while many students are still figuring out what they want to do, Eric MacDonald was already building an app to solve a problem affecting thousands of teenagers.

MacDonald and learning from observation 

The high school student from Tampa developed Aceit, an AI-powered SAT preparation app designed to help students study smarter and spend less money. The idea came from something simple: he noticed that many SAT preparation options felt expensive, outdated, or not tailored to individual students.

MacDonald, a sophomore at Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School, had not even taken the SAT himself when he started working on the app. Yet, he saw a clear gap. Many students relied on costly tutors or study books that could not adapt to different learning styles or weaknesses.

For him, the problem was bigger than academics. SAT preparation can cost families thousands of dollars, making quality support harder to access for lower-income students. He believed there should be an easier and more affordable option. That idea is what became Aceit.

How MacDonald Built Aceit

Using his coding skills and artificial intelligence, MacDonald built an app that adapts to users. Students can input past scores and future goals, while the platform suggests questions based on their weak areas. It also gives feedback on mistakes and includes an AI chatbot for learning support.

Rather than replacing human effort, the app helps students study more efficiently. A free version makes it accessible, while premium features remain relatively affordable.

Aceit did not appear overnight. MacDonald’s interest in technology started years earlier after seeing a Nintendo Wii memory card loaded with game cheats. Curious about how things worked, he moved into game development, website creation, and later app building. Aceit became his fourth app and his biggest success so far, gaining thousands of downloads and positive reviews from students.

What MacDonald’s Journey Tells Student Entrepreneurs 

His journey shows an important lesson for student entrepreneurs: good businesses often start with a problem people face every day. MacDonald did not begin with a perfect plan. He started with curiosity, learned skills over time, and built something useful.

For student founders, the message is simple: sometimes innovation begins by paying attention to what people struggle with and asking, “How can I make this easier?”