McClintock ta fara karatunta a Kwalejin Noma ta Cornell a shekarar 1919. A can, ta shiga cikin gwamnatin dalibai kuma an gayyace ta ta shiga ƙungiyar 'yan mata, kodayake ba da daɗewa ba ta fahimci cewa ta fi son kada ta shiga ƙungiyoyi na yau da kullun. A maimakon haka, McClintock ta ɗauki kiɗa, musamman jazz. Ta yi karatun botany, ta karɓi BSc a 1923. Sha'awarta a cikin ilimin halittar jini ta fara ne lokacin da ta fara karatun ta na farko a wannan fannin a 1921. Wannan kwas ɗin ya dogara ne akan irin wannan da aka bayar a Jami'ar Harvard, kuma C. B. Hutchison, mai shuka da mai ilimin halittar jini ne ya koyar da shi. Hutchison ya burge da sha'awar McClintock, kuma ya kira ta ta ta waya don ta gayyace ta ta shiga karatun digiri na digiri na genetics a Cornell a shekarar 1922. McClintock ya nuna dalilin da ya sa McClintock ta mayar da hankali ga waɗannan digiri a matsayin dalibai: "Cornell ya ci gaba da yin wahayi zuwa ilimin halittar jini, musamman don kiran Cornell, don yin amfani
Lewis Stadler