This article analyzes the alignment of interpretative frames between the Confederation of Chilean Students (CONFECh) and the students who participated in protests of the Chilean university student movement during a phase of declining mobilization capacity (2016-2017). Through interviews with 32 non-affiliated students and the analysis of 36 CONFECh documents, similarities and differences in the diagnoses and prognoses regarding education are identified. The study reveals alignment around the critique of the commodification of education but differences in the interpretation of issues such as educational inequality and sexual harassment. The article concludes that partial frame alignment is relevant for the movement’s persistence during periods of low mobilization.