They are going to take both your mom & your stepdad’s income and assets into account. If your stepdad has ownership in a small business, they are probably going to consider some of those assets and some of the income for that as available as well.
Can you get one of your parents to help with this? I can see how it is tough for a 17 year old to understand. Maybe your stepdad can help you talk with the schools and understand whether the forms were filled out correctly and whether there is any extenuating circumstance that should be documented for the colleges.